THROUGH 

N KNOWN  LAND 

AIN  C.H.STIGAND 


J 


^  tip  ^alogicul  & 

$r  PRINCETON,  N.J. 


Purchased  by  the  Mary  Cheves  Dulles  Fund. 


Division 

Section  *  S7 


TO  ABYSSINIA 

THROUGH  AN  UNKNOWN  LAND 


[ 

Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2015 

https://archive.org/details/toabyssiniathrouOOstig 


Tengeneza  and  Vulturine  Guinea-fowl 

This  bird,  which  is  also  common  in  Somaliland,  is  very  handsome,  and  bears  iridescent  colours. 


^tm  of  pw* 


TO  ABYSSINIA 


THROUGH  AN  UNKNOWN  LAND 


AN  ACCOUNT  OF  A  JOURNEY  THROUGH  UNEXPLORED 
REGIONS   OF   BRITISH   EAST  AFRICA   BY  LAKE 
RUDOLF  TO  THE  KINGDOM  OF  MENELEK 


/  BY 

CAPTAIN  C.  H.  STIGAND,  F.R.G.S.,  F.Z.S. 

"THE  QUEEN'S  OWN"  ROYAL  WEST  KENT  REGIMENT 
AUTHOR  OF   "CENTRAL  AFRICAN  GAME  AND  ITS  SPOOR,"  "  THE  GAME 
OF  BRITISH  EAST  AFRICA,"  tS~C 


WITH  THIRTY-SIX  ILLUSTRATIONS 
AND  TWO  MAPS 


PHILADELPHIA 
J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

LONDON  :  SEELEY  fr>  CO.,  LIMITED 
I9IO 


TO 

MY  MOTHEE 

TO  WHOSE  HELP  AND  ENCOURAGEMENT 
I  OWE  MUCH 


PREFACE 


Between  the  highlands  of  British  East  Africa  and  the 
mountainous  region  of  Southern  Abyssinia  is  a  broad 
tract  of  desolate  and  unexplored  country.  Great  natural 
obstacles  have  to  be  surmounted  in  crossing  this  belt. 
It  is  waterless,  and  affords  no  food  for  man,  and  some- 
times no  grazing  for  animals. 

A  great  part  of  the  country  is  a  mass  of  volcanic  debris, 
utterly  uninhabited,  and  no  guides  are  obtainable. 

It  required  a  certain  amount  of  persuasion  and  en- 
couragement to  hearten  up  my  men  to  the  enterprise  of 
crossing  this  unknown  land,  especially  at  that  period 
when  we  were  without  guides. 

At  times  they  were  mutinous,  fearing  that  they  would 
die  of  thirst,  and  we  were  perhaps  only  saved  from  that 
fate  by  the  happy  discovery  of  a  water-hole.  At  other 
times  they  straggled,  and  appeared  too  worn  out  to  care 
what  happened,  or  to  make  any  effort  to  reach  the  next 
water-hole.  Nevertheless  a  great  measure  of  praise  is 
due  to  my  men  for  the  manner  in  which  they  accom- 
plished the  journey. 

On  an  occasion  of  this  sort  it  is  easy  enough  to  lead, 

vii 


viii  PREFACE 

but  a  very  much  harder  matter  to  follow  blindly  and 
obediently,  and  so  they  deserve  the  highest  tribute. 

With  the  exception  of  the  two  headmen  and  my  boy, 
they  were  all  highlanders — men  absolutely  unsuited  to 
the  conditions  of  life  in  the  low  country.  Dependent  in 
their  villages  almost  entirely  on  grain,  and  used  to  the 
cool  air  of  the  East  African  Highlands,  and  no  lack  of 
running  streams,  they  suffered  terribly  from  the  heat  and 
thirst  of  the  lava  desert  and  the  reduced  rations  of  cereal 
food.  After  passing  through  this  waterless  strip,  and 
reaching  the  southern  borders  of  Abyssinia,  one  comes 
to  a  country  profuse  in  little  tribes,  all  differing  from 
one  another  to  a  greater  or  lesser  degree  in  customs  and 
language. 

Putting  aside  those  tribes  a  little  off  my  route,  of  whom 
I  met  only  one  or  two  individuals,  there  were  over  twenty 
different  tribes  through  whose  country  my  journey  took 
me.  The  study  of  these  peoples  and  their  varied  charac- 
teristics was  to  me  a  most  interesting  part  of  the  journey. 
Many  of  these  are  but  uncivilized  barbarians,  but  others, 
such  as  the  Wallamu,  undoubtedly  show  traces  of  having 
sprung  from  an  old  civilization,  perhaps  emanating  from 
ancient  Egypt. 

Another  interesting  feature  was  to  see  the  way  in  which 
the  Abyssinians  administrate  their  southern  borders  and 
the  numerous  subject-tribes  therein.  Although  their 
methods  leave  much  to  be  desired,  they  undoubtedly 
manage  to  rule  their  territories  with  an  organization  and  a 
rough  justice  which,  all  things  considered,  are  surprising. 


PREFACE  ix 

All  my  photographs  have  been  developed  and  printed 
by  my  aunt,  Mrs.  Edgar  Clark.  My  most  grateful  thanks 
are  due  to  her  for  the  great  skill  and  patience  with  which 
she  has  produced  the  results  here  shown. 

My  thanks  are  also  due  to  Major  C.  W.  Gwynn,  C.M.G., 
D.S.O.,  R.E.,  for  placing  at  my  disposal  materials  from 
which  the  sketch  of  the  route  from  the  Omo  River  to 
Addis  Ababa  is  compiled. 

My  route  sketches  and  observations  which  appear  in 
the  map  of  the  Rudolf  district  were  based  on  points  fixed 
by  Captain  P.  Maud,  C.M.G.,  R.E. 

I  must  not  omit  to  mention  Abdi  Hassan,  my  head- 
man, to  whose  faithful  services  the  successful  issue  of 
the  trip  was  mainly  attributable. 

C.  H.  STIGAND. 


London, 
Jcmuary,  1910. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  JOURNEY  - 

CHAPTER  II 

TREK  TO  LAIKIPIA  - 

CHAPTER  III 

THE  LAIKIPIA  PLAINS 

CHAPTER  IV 

THE  SAMBURR  COUNTRY 

CHAPTER  V 

THE  BARTA  STEPPE 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY — continued 

CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  WATERLESS  ELGES 

CHAPTER  IX 

THE  BORANA 

CHAPTER  X 

MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES 

xi 


xii 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XI 

TUMEPONA  WATER-HOLF       -  -  -  -  160 

CHAPTER  XII 

WE  REACH  LAKE  RUDOLF    -  -  -  173 

CHAPTER  XIII 

A  LUCKY  FIND  OF  WATER  -  -  -  -  184 

CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  LAST  OF  THE  UNINHABITED  TRACT     -  -  196 

CHAPTER  XV 

THE  RESHIAT  ......  210 

CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  OHO  RIVER  AND  NERI  DESERT  -  -  -  230 

CHAPTER  XVII 

A  MOUNTAINOUS  COUNTRY  -  -  -  -  247 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
uba  -  -         -         -         -  -         -  263 

CHAPTER  XIX 

CROSSING  THE  MOLSHA        -  -  280 

CHAPTER  XX 

THE  WALLAMU 

CHAPTER  XXI 

ON  THE  ROAD  TO  ADDIS  ABABA 

CHAPTER  XXII 


WE  REACH  ADDIS  ABABA    -  -  -  -  316 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY  -  -  -  -  329 

index        -  .....  349 


-  292 

-  304 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

TENGENEZA  AND  VULTURINE  GUINEA-FOWL  -  -  Frontispiece 

THE  MULE,  THE  SAIS,  AND  NAROK           -             -             -  26 

THE  START  FROM  GILGIL    -                                                      -             -  28 
THE  SAIS  WITH  MASAI  SULSUL        -             -             -             -  -42 

FIRST  VIEW  OF  THE  SAMBURR  COUNTRY    -             -             -  52 

S  AM  BURR  56 

SAMBURR  ELDERS    -             -             -             -             -             -             -  60 

SAMBURR  KRAAL     -             -             -             -             -             -             -  68 

SWIYAN        -                                                      ....  68 

TURKANA  WARRIORS            -             -             -             -             -  80 

RHINOCEROS             .......  84 

TURKANA  WARRIORS            -             -             -             -             -             -  86 

CAMP  AT  NAISICHU                -              -              -              -              -              -  86 

RENDDLE  STOCK       -             -             -             -             -             -             -  94 

RENDDLE  COUNTRY               -             -             -             -             -             -  98 

RENDDLE  MAN  AND  WOMAN             .....  100 

RENDDLE  MAIDENS                -             -             -                           -             -  110 

LOADING  CAMELS     -             -             -             -             -             -             -  118 

xiii 


xiv        LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

THE  HAUL,  THE  GAZELLE  OF  THE  RUDOLF  DISTRICT         -             -  120 
LAIPERA  WELL         -             -             -             -             -             -  -124 

CAMP  AT  LAIPERA                -             -             -             -             -             -  128 

KOROLI        ........  128 

a  borana  goatherd       -         -         -         -         -         -  132 

my  camels  drinking  at  maidahad       -         -         -         -  134 

camp  at  tumepona        -         -         -         -         -         -  170 

topi          -         -         -         -         -         -         -         -  206 

the  reshiat,  or  goliba           .....  226 

bako  natives  at  karo    ......  236 

a  bako  native     .......  240 

a  bako  man        .......  244 

the  dejaz's  present      ......  274 

abyssinian  and  horse    ......  278 

kalkai  and  the  goffa  lij  286 

a  garauge  stonehenge  ------  308 

a  garauge  umbrella  308 

balchi  escarpment        ......  334 

sketch-map  of  route  from  lake  rudolf  to  addis  ababa  -  347 

map  of  lake  rudolf  district  -----  348 


A  BRIEF  SUMMARY  OF  THE  CHIEF  FORMER 
EXPLORATIONS  OF  THE  RUDOLF  DISTRICT 


1.  The  discovery  of  Lakes  Rudolf  and  Stefanie  by  Count 
Teleki  in  1888. 

This  expedition,  as  described  by  his  companion,  Lieutenant 
von  Hohnel,  passed  up  through  East  Africa,  via  Lake  Baringo, 
then  almost  unknown,  and  from  there  struck  northwards  to 
the  south  end  of  Lake  Rudolf.  They  followed  up  the  east 
shore  till  they  arrived  at  the  north  end  of  the  lake,  and  crossed 
from  there  to  Stefanie. 

They  returned  by  the  same  route  to  the  south  end  of 
Rudolf,  whence  they  made  a  detour  westwards  into  the 
Turkana  country,  and  thence  back  to  Baringo. 

2.  The  Italian,  Captain  Bottego,  in  1895-1897  started  up 
the  Juba  River,  and  then  cut  across  the  Borana  country 
westwards,  and  discovered  Lake  Margherita.  From  this  lake 
he  proceeded  westwards,  crossed  the  Omo  River,  visited  the 
north-west  end  of  Rudolf,  and  then  went  through  the  Kaffa 
country.  From  there  he  crossed  to  Addis  Ababa,  and  on  his 
way  from  that  place  to  the  coast  met  with  his  death. 

3.  Dr.  Donaldson  Smith  came  down  through  the  Somali 
country,  crossed  the  Borana,  and  arrived  at  the  Omo  River. 
On  his  return  he  passed  what  he  refers  to  as  Mount  Koroli, 
1897. 

4.  About  the  same  time  the  late  A.  H.  Neumann,  starting 
from  British  East  Africa,  made  a  hunting  trip  up  the  east  shore 
of  Lake  Rudolf  to  the  Reshiat,  and  then  a  few  days  up  the 
Omo  River.  He  was  there  badly  mauled  by  an  elephant, 
and  after  a  long  illness  became  well  enough  to  return  by  the 
same  route. 

XV 


xvi 


A  BRIEF  SUMMARY 


He  has  given  a  description  of  this  trip  in  his  book,  "  Elephan 
Hunting  in  East  Equatorial  Africa,"  but  he  did  not  take  any 
observations  or  make  any  maps. 

5.  In  1898  Captain  Welby  made  a  trip  from  Addis  Ababa, 
passing  down  the  chain  of  Lakes  Zwai,  Margherita,  Stefanie, 
and  thence  to  the  north  of  Lake  Rudolf.  He  travelled  down 
the  east  shore  to  the  south  end,  and  thence  struck  north-west  to 
the  Sobat. 

6.  In  1900-1901  Carlo  Freiherr  v.  Erlanger  passed  down 
this  same  chain  of  lakes  as  far  as  Lake  Margherita,  and  from 
there  he  struck  across  to  the  Juba  River. 

7.  In  1903  the  Butter  survey  thoroughly  explored  the 
proposed  southern  boundary  of  Abyssinia,  through  the  Borana 
country,  and  thence  westwards  past  Lake  Stefanie  to  Rudolf. 
They  then  followed  the  east  shore  to  the  south  end  of  the  lake, 
and  from  there  struck  for  Lake  Baringo. 


It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  that  all  the  travellers  who 
have  visited  these  parts  have  followed  much  the  same  route, 
either  in  whole  or  part — viz.,  Baringo,  east  shore  of  Rudolf, 
Stefanie,  Margherita,  Zwai,  Addis  Ababa. 

It  was  my  ambition  to  avoid  this  route  as  much  as  possible, 
and  find  a  new  route  east  of  Lake  Rudolf,  then  to  strike  the 
Omo  River,  follow  it  up  a  short  distance,  and  thence  proceed 
north-east  to  Addis  Ababa,  avoiding  the  Margherita  route. 


TO  ABYSSINIA 

THROUGH  AN  UNKNOWN  LAND 


CHAPTER  I 

PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  JOURNEY 

Many  unknown  little  patches  and  corners  still  exist  in 
the  dark  continent  for  the  would-be  explorer  who  wishes 
to  break  new  ground.  It  has  long  been  one  of  my 
favourite  recreations  to  sit  with  the  map  of  Africa  before 
me  and  plan  out  exploring  and  hunting  expeditions 
traversing  such  unfrequented  spots.  There  can  be  few 
unexplored  patches  of  the  continent  still  remaining  which 
I  have  not,  in  imagination  at  least,  traversed  and  re- 
traversed. 

When  I  leave  my  land  of  dreams  to  come  face  to  face 
with  stern  reality,  two  ridiculous  little  matters  have  ever 
been  present  to  frustrate  my  plans.  These,  whose  names 
are  "  time  "  and  "  money,"  have  served  to  restrict  my 
wanderings,  with  a  few  small  exceptions,  to  the  imme- 
diate neighbourhood  of  my  duties. 

However,  I  have  always  been  ready  to  seize  the  oppor- 
tunity of  taking  a  more  extended  journey  whenever  it 
occurred.  In  anticipation  of  such  a  chance,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  select  a  general  route  for  a  trip.  The  unknown 
tract  north  of  the  administrated  portions  of  British  East 
Africa  and  Uganda  and  south  of  Abyssinia  seemed  most 
suited  to  my  purpose.    The  reasons  for  which  I  chose  this 

17  2 


18    PREPARATIONS  FOR  JOURNEY 

country  were  chiefly  :  that  it  was  near  the  scene  of  my 
official  duties,  and  so  time  and  expense  in  arriving  at  the 
point  of  departure  were  obviated  ;  that  it  was  nearly  the 
only  large  tract  of  unknown  country  in  British  territory 
on  the  eastern  side  of  Africa  ;  that  my  knowledge  of  the 
country  and  natives  on  this  side  of  Africa  would  permit 
of  preparations  being  made  more  expeditiously  and  with 
less  expense  than  in  a  totally  strange  country  ;  that  an 
extension  of  the  journey  would  take  me  through  Abys- 
sinia, a  country  I  had  often  wished  to  visit  and  whose 
language  I  had  long  wished  to  study. 

This  trip  I  had  had  in  view  for  several  years  before  there 
was  a  chance  of  executing  it.  At  last,  in  April,  1908, 1  found 
myself  at  Nairobi,  British  East  Africa,  with  a  year's  leave 
before  me,  but,  unfortunately,  the  money  I  had  been  so 
laboriously  saving  was  not  quite  sufficient  for  so  long  and 
expensive  a  journey.  Something  had  to  be  done  to  raise 
the  extra  funds,  or  I  must  forego  my  chance,  perhaps  for 
ever.  This  being  the  case,  I  set  out  with  my  brother-officer, 
Captain  R.  S.  Hart,  for  an  elephant-hunting  trip  in  Uganda 
and  the  Congo.  This  proved  a  most  interesting  expedition, 
and  was  so  successful  that  towards  the  end  of  the  same 
year  we  found  ourselves  on  the  way  back  to  Nairobi  with  a 
balance  substantial  enough  to  put  through  the  Abyssinian 
trip  on  a  modest  scale.  The  time,  however,  now  at  our 
disposal  was  barely  sufficient  for  such  a  journey. 

I  sent  on  word  to  my  friend  R.  G.  Stone  in  Nairobi, 
asking  him  to  enrol  thirty  picked  porters  and  a  headman 
for  me,  if  possible  obtaining  men  who  had  been  with  me 
on  former  trips.  My  idea  was  then  to  start  off  immediately 
on  my  return,  remaining  in  Nairobi  only  long  enough  to 
make  the  necessary  purchases  of  trade  goods  and  other 
requisites  for  the  journey. 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  JOURNEY  19 


Both  of  us  were  rather  run  down,  the  result  of  fevers, 
want  of  provisions,  and  other  causes  in  the  Congo,  and  on 
arrival  at  Nairobi  we  had  to  take  to  our  beds.  Unfortu- 
nately, Hart,  who  had  intended  to  accompany  me  on  this 
second  trip,  was  ordered  home  by  the  doctor,  and  I  had 
to  suffer  a  delay  of  three  weeks  before  I  could  start. 

Stone  had  been  unable  to  find  any  of  my  old  porters  in 
Nairobi,  this  being  a  busy  season  for  them,  but  he  had 
carefully  selected  a  very  promising-looking  crew  of  stal- 
wart Wanyamwezi  ruffians.  I  did  not,  however,  take  to 
the  headman,  a  tall,  thin  Comoro-Swahili  with  a  Hebraic 
nose,  called  Omari.  A  native  friend  advised  me  to  change 
him,  but  as  there  appeared  to  be  no  one  else  forthcoming, 
and,  moreover,  as  he  had  been  waiting  for  me  some  time, 
and  seemed  anxious  to  please,  I  retained  him. 

In  Uganda  and  the  Congo  we  had  used  local  porters, 
and  the  only  members  of  my  staff  who  returned  with  me 
were  my  cook  and  Tengeneza,  my  gun-bearer.  As  they 
both  drew  the  large  sum  due  to  them  at  the  end  of  the 
journey,  I  did  not  expect  to  see  either  of  them  again, 
although  they  both  promised  to  accompany  me  on  the 
next  trip.  However,  Tengeneza  spent  all  his  back  pay 
in  a  few  days,  and  then  appeared  and  asked  for  an 
advance.  While  regretting  the  recklessness  of  the 
African  savage,  I  could  not  help  being  pleased  to  hear  of 
this,  as  I  now  knew  that  he  was  certain  of  coming  with 
me.  He  was  a  man  of  a  somewhat  surly  and  cantankerous 
disposition,  but  he  had  proved  his  pluck  and  nerve  on 
many  occasions  with  dangerous  game. 

With  regard  to  provisions  and  stores  for  the  journey, 
I  had  had  all  I  wanted  sent  out  from  home,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  odds  and  ends  such  as  porters'  tents 
and  cooking-pots,  axes,  etc.,  which  I  obtained  locally. 

2—2 


20    PREPARATIONS  FOR  JOURNEY 


However,  the  most  important  item  for  the  traveller  in 
uncivilized  parts  is  a  comprehensive  and  useful  collection 
of  trade  goods,  and  these  had  yet  to  be  purchased. 

Goods  for  this  purpose  must  be  most  carefully  chosen 
to  suit  the  requirements  of  the  countries  and  tribes  to  be 
visited.  Some  people  seem  to  have  an  idea  that  a  naked 
savage  ought  to  be  glad  to  receive  anything  from  a 
European,  but  this  is  not  the  case.  If  you  do  not  take 
him  exactly  what  he  wants,  you  will  be  unable  to  purchase 
food  or  anything  else,  although  you  may  have  hundreds 
of  pounds'  worth  of  goods. 

Teleki  mentions  how  he  was  unable  to  purchase  a  single 
sheep  amongst  the  Reshiat,  although  he  had  bales  of  the 
most  beautiful  Maskat  stuffs.  If  he  had  had  a  few  yards 
of  coarse  amerihani  (calico),  he  would  have  experienced  no 
difficulty. 

In  one  part  of  the  Lado  enclave  the  most  valuable 
goods  for  barter  are  empty,  plain  glass  bottles,  such  as 
gin  or  Worcester  sauce  bottles.  Out  of  these  the  natives 
chip  lip  ornaments.  For  an  empty  Worcester  sauce  bottle 
one  could  often  get  several  chickens,  whilst  many  of  our 
trade  goods,  such  as  frock-coats,  mouth-organs,  and 
looking-glasses,  they  would  not  have  at  all. 

While  I  was  still  pondering  over  the  subject  of  trade 
goods  and  making  out  lists,  I  ran  up  against  a  Somali 
called  Ibrahim,  whom  I  had  known  before  in  Somaliland. 
This  man  had  travelled  extensively  in  Africa,  and  when 
he  heard  of  my  present  trip  he  at  once  volunteered  to  get 
my  trade  goods  for  me. 

With  his  help  I  made  out  a  list  of  my  requirements,  and 
he  then  effected  the  purchases  for  me  from  Indian  traders 
at  two-thirds  the  price  I  should  have  had  to  pay  myself. 
He  had  them  done  up  in  sixty-pound  loads  for  donkeys, 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  JOURNEY  21 


all  ready  for  the  start.  The  amerikani,  however,  I  obtained 
from  Mombasa,  as  there  was  no  saving  to  be  made  on  this 
by  local  purchase. 

One  of  the  great  advantages  of  obtaining  Ibrahim's  advice 
was  that  he  knew  at  once  the  cheapest  form  of  each  article 
required  which  would  serve  my  purpose.  Of  some  things 
he  chose  an  inferior  kind  for  use  on  the  first  part  of  the 
journey,  and  a  superior  kind  ready  to  meet  the  more  critical 
gaze  of  the  Abyssinian  when  I  should  arrive  in  his  country. 

During  my  journey  I  had  often  cause  to  congratulate 
myself  on  having  obtained  this  expert  advice  in  the  selec- 
tion of  my  goods,  for  if  it  had  not  been  for  Ibrahim  I 
should  have  started  without  some  of  the  things  which 
proved  most  useful.  I  append  here  a  list  of  the  trade 
goods  I  took  with  me  : 

6  loads  coarse  thick  amerikani  (calico), 
4     „    maradufu  (white  twill), 
3     ,,    sengenge  (iron  wire), 

1  ,,    kisango  (brass  wire), 

2  „    blue  Masai  beads, 

1  white,  yellow,  and  other  beads, 

2  ,,    native  tobacco, 

3  dozen  large  clasp-knives, 
2     ,,     small  clasp-knives, 

60  yards  doria  (coloured  muslins), 

Sewing-needles, 

Packing-needles, 

Small  looking-glasses,  snuff-boxes,  brass  chains, 
and  a  variety  of  odds  and  ends. 

In  all,  I  had  twenty-two  loads  of  trade  goods. 

I  obtained  one  hundred  brand-new  Marie-Therese 
dollars,  the  coin  used  in  Abyssinia,  in  case  I  should  want 


22    PREPARATIONS  FOR  JOURNEY 


them.  More  than  these  would  have  been  heavy  to  carry, 
and  I  did  not  expect  to  use  them  much  in  Southern 
Abyssinia.  I  also  took  a  letter  of  credit  on  the  Abys- 
sinian Bank  at  Addis  Ababa. 

I  bought  twenty  donkeys  with  which  to  perform  the 
first  part  of  the  journey,  and  had  saddles  and  saddle-bags 
sewn  for  them  of  sacking,  the  former  being  stuffed  with 
straw.  I  enlisted  a  few  more  porters  who  had  been 
accustomed  to  work  with  donkeys,  and  now  a  headman 
for  the  transport  was  required. 

Ibrahim  said  that  he  knew  of  a  Somali  who  would  suit 
me,  and  brought  along  a  little  man  called  Abdi  Hassan. 
Abdi  had  been  in  the  Masai  company  of  the  3rd  Bat- 
talion King's  African  Rifles.  He  could  speak  Swahili 
fairly  well,  and  gave  me  to  understand  that  he  had  been 
a  Masai,  but  that  when  a  child  he  had  been  captured  by  a 
raiding  expedition  of  Somalis  and  taken  to  Kismayu,  and 
that  there  he  had  become  a  naturalized  Somali. 

I  was  surprised  at  the  time,  as  I  had  never  heard  of 
any  conflict  between  Somalis  and  Masai.  It  afterwards 
transpired  that  Abdi  was  really  a  Rendile.  However,  he 
now  considered  himself  quite  a  Somali. 

I  was  favourably  impressed  with  Abdi  from  the  first. 
I  do  not  care  for  Somalis  as  a  rule,  though  I  must  confess 
to  a  sneaking  admiration  for  them.  Abdi  possessed  all 
the  good  qualities  of  a  Somali,  and  none  of  his  vices. 
He  was  quick  and  intelligent,  a  rare  hand  at  driving  a 
bargain ;  moreover,  he  knew  the  Somali  and  Galla 
languages,  and  had  great  confidence  in  himself,  and  knew 
how  to  keep  the  other  men  in  their  place.  He  was  careful 
and  considerate  with  the  animals,  and  had  not  the  over- 
weening self-conceit  or  the  grasping  nature  of  the  ordinary 
Somali.    In  fact,  Abdi  proved  of  untold  value,  and  the 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  JOURNEY  23 


success  of  the  expedition  was  mainly  attributable  to 
him. 

Now  the  caravan  was  practically  ready  to  start,  but  I 
had  not  as  yet  a  cook  or  a  boy.  Sadi,  a  Malindi  boy  who 
had  served  a  brother-officer,  had  turned  up  and  offered 
his  services,  and  I  had  refused  him,  as  I  thought  that  he 
did  not  look  strong  enough  for  such  a  journey.  Fortu- 
nately he  insisted  on  coming  in  spite  of  my  refusal,  and 
as  it  turned  out,  he  stood  the  heat  and  thirst  of  the  low 
country  as  well  as  anybody,  only  excepting  Abdi,  who 
was,  of  course,  quite  at  home  in  a  waterless  country. 

My  old  cook  came  almost  every  day  to  tell  me  that  he 
would  accompany  me,  so  I  guessed  that  he  did  not  really 
intend  coming  at  all.  This  proved  to  be  correct,  as  a 
day  or  two  before  I  started  he  called  off.  In  the  nick  of 
time  a  Manyema  called  Bakari,  who  had  been  cook's  boy 
on  a  former  trip,  turned  up.  He  said  that  now  he  was  a 
full-fledged  cook,  and  cooked  my  dinner  the  same  night 
to  prove  it. 

I  thus  had  two  old  followers  with  me,  Tengeneza  and 
Bakari,  but  all  the  rest  were  new  to  my  ways  and  methods. 

The  armament  of  the  caravan  consisted  of  ten  Martini- 
Henris  and  a  box  of  ammunition,  besides  my  own 
sporting  rifles  and  ammunition.  As  many  of  the  men 
had  been  in  the  police  or  Bang's  African  Rifles,  I  had  little 
difficulty  in  choosing  from  amongst  the  porters  ten  men 
sufficiently  qualified  to  carry  a  rifle. 

I  was  not  yet  quite  fit  to  move,  so  I  decided  to  send  on 
the  porters  and  donkeys  to  Gilgil  Station  by  road,  and  to 
meet  them  there  by  train.  This  gave  me  a  few  more  days' 
rest  before  starting.  So  I  called  all  the  porters  up,  and 
explained  to  them,  as  much  as  was  desirable,  the  scope 
of  the  journey  in  some  such  words  as  these  : 


24    PREPARATIONS  FOR  JOURNEY 


"  We  are  now  all  ready  to  start.  The  journey  before  us 
is  long,  and  in  the  way  we  shall  meet  hunger  and  thirst, 
adversities  and  trials,  difficulties  and  dangers.  We  shall 
journey  for  many  days  through  a  bad  country  without 
food  or  water,  and  finally  we  shall  come  to  the  country  of 
the  Wahabashi  (Abyssinians).  We  shall  cross  that 
country,  and  reach  the  sea.  There  I  will  put  you  in 
ships,  and  send  you  back  to  Mombasa.  Now,  this  is  not 
an  ordinary  shooting-trip,  but  a  big  journey,  so  I  want 
only  men.  Further,  I  want  men  hard  of  heart.  A  man 
whose  heart  turns  to  water  is  of  no  use  to  me.  So  if  any 
one  of  you  is  afraid  in  his  heart,  let  him  say  so  now  and 
turn  back,  for  I  want  only  men  to  accompany  me.  You 
have  all  had  your  advance  of  pay.  Let  him  who  is  afraid 
take  this,  and  go  his  way.  My  loss  thus  will  be  but  little, 
whereas  if  such  an  one  comes  with  us  men  it  may  be  great. 
What  say  you  ?"  Omari,  the  headman,  replied  :  "  Master, 
you  have  spoken  true  words,  words  worthy  of  being 
followed."  Then,  turning  to  the  men,  he  said  :  "Do 
you  hear  what  the  master  says  ?  Speak  up,  anyone  who 
has  fear  in  his  heart." 

The  porters  all  disclaimed  the  possession  of  any  such 
feeling,  so  I  continued  : 

"  Now  I  wish  to  make  an  agreement  with  you  all.  I 
have  told  you  that  we  are  passing  through  a  country  where 
there  is  but  little  food.  We  will  carry  with  us  as  much 
food  as  we  are  able,  but  the  difficulties  of  feeding  you  will 
be  great ;  therefore  I  want  to  make  an  agreement  with 
you.  Where  there  is  food,  you  shall  have  it.  Where 
there  is  no  food,  I  shall,  if  necessary,  give  you  only  half  a 
kibdba  of  food  a  day ;  but  when  I  do  this  I  shall  also  give 
you  meat,  so  that  you  may  eat,  and  not  feel  the  pain  of 
hunger  in  your  stomachs.    When  I  am  unable  to  shoot 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  JOURNEY  25 


meat  for  you,  then  will  I  give  you  your  full  kibdba  of 
flour  or  grain.  Further,  if  I  find  it  necessary  to  do  this, 
when  we  reach  a  country  with  much  food,  then  will  I  give 
you  to  eat  till  you  can  eat  no  more.    Do  you  agree  ?" 

This  statement  was  received  with  cheers  of  approval 
from  all  the  porters.  One  would  have  imagined  that  I 
had  offered  them  double  pay  instead  of  reduced  rations. 
Typical  happy-go-lucky  African  natives,  they  only  dwelt 
on  the  possibilities  of  overeating  themselves  in  the  time  of 
plenty,  while  the  possibility  of  hunger  was  forgotten  as 
soon  as  mentioned. 

Abdi,  Sadi,  and  Bakari  remained  behind  to  help  me 
with  the  last  preparations,  while  the  porters  and  donkeys 
set  off  for  Gilgil.  Here  were  about  thirty  men  whom  I 
had  never  clapped  eyes  on  before,  starting  out  alone,  with 
twenty  donkeys  and  a  lot  of  my  effects,  to  go  to  a  place 
six  days  distant.  After  they  had  departed  I  wondered 
how  many  men  and  donkeys  and  loads  this  haphazard 
crew  would  lose  on  the  way,  and  how  many,  if  any,  of 
them  would  turn  up  at  Gilgil  at  the  appointed  time. 

However,  it  does  not  do  for  the  African  traveller  to 
worry  over  anything  that  might  happen  ;  what  actually 
does  happen  is  as  a  rule  trying  and  difficult  enough  to 
deal  with. 

A  few  days  later  I  bade  good-bye  to  my  friends  in 
Nairobi,  and  got  on  the  Kisumu  train.  I  had  with  me 
Abdi,  Sadi,  Bakari,  a  mule,  a  Masai  sais  called  Juma, 
and  Narok,  a  retriever  bitch. 

The  mule  was  always  known  as  "  the  mule  "  (nyumbu) 
till  we  reached  Abyssinia.  When  we  had  other  mules 
in  our  caravan  a  new  name  had  to  be  found  for  it.  The 
men  then  always  called  it  "  our  mule  "  (nyumbu  yetu), 
but  the  sais  and  I  called  it  "  Nairobi."    We  took  up  with 


26    PREPARATIONS  FOR  JOURNEY 


us  also  the  donkey -saddles,  some  of  the  trade  goods,  and 
a  few  other  things.  The  calico  and  maradufu  was  to 
meet  us  at  Gilgil,  whither  it  had  been  despatched  by  train 
from  Mombasa. 

The  journey  from  Nairobi  to  Gilgil  is  perhaps  the  most 
picturesque  on  the  whole  length  of  the  Uganda  Railway. 
The  line  slowly  winds  up  through  cultivated  Kikuyu- 
land,  and  then  through  the  forests  which  crown  the 
escarpment.  Suddenly  a  most  magnificent  view  of  the 
Rift  Valley  is  seen  over  a  sheer  descent  of  several  thousand 
feet.  Lakes  and  extinct  craters  dot  the  floor  of  the 
valley,  while  at  the  opposite  side  is  the  forested  wall  of 
the  Mau  escarpment. 

One  winds  down  the  steep  escarpment  through  forests 
and  across  ravines,  till  at  last  one  reaches  the  bottom,  and 
arrives  at  the  station  of  Naivasha.  Here  I  asked  a  native 
policeman  on  the  platform  if  he  had  seen  my  caravan,  as 
they  were  to  pass  through  this  place.  He  denied  all 
knowledge  of  them.  Presently  a  police-officer  came  up, 
and  cheered  me  up  with  the  intelligence  that  they  certainly 
had  not  passed.  It  was  impossible  that  they  could  have 
passed  without  his  knowledge,  as  he  had  police  out  on  all 
the  roads,  who  reported  everything.  A  big  caravan  with 
donkeys  could  not  possibly  have  passed  without  being  at 
once  reported  to  him. 

I  could  not  help  feeling  rather  anxious  as  the  train 
continued  on  its  way  lest  my  trip  should  be  still  further 
delayed  by  the  non-appearance  of  my  men.  I  was  not 
afraid  that  they  would  bolt  with  my  things,  but  the 
African  native  is  capable  of  making  such  wonderful  and 
unexpected  mistakes  that  I  revolved  in  my  mind  all  the 
things  that  they  could  possibly  have  done. 

The  road  I  had  explained  carefully,  I  had  impressed 


The  Mule,  the  Sais,  and  Narok 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  JOURNEY  27 


on  them  where  to  camp  each  day,  and  a  variety  of  other 
things.  Perhaps  the  donkeys  had  run  away,  perhaps  the 
men  had  got  drunk  or  fallen  out  with  the  headman, 
perhaps  anything. 

As  we  neared  Gilgil  Station  just  before  sunset  I  put 
my  head  out  of  the  window,  and,  to  my  intense  satisfaction, 
saw  my  tent  pitched  beside  the  line  on  the  short  veldt, 
then  the  donkeys  tethered  in  a  row  ;  I  counted  them,  and 
there  were  twenty,  and  everything  in  order. 

A  howling  mob  of  porters  rushed  down  to  meet  the 
train,  and  hung  on  to  the  foot-boards  before  it  stopped. 
"How  are  you,  master?"  "Good-evening,  master." 
"Have  you  arrived  safely?"  "What  is  the  news  of 
Nairobi  ?" 

I  was  delighted  to  see  them  in  such  good  spirits  on  the 
eve  of  departure,  and  so  I  said  :  "  I  have  arrived  safely, 
and,  moreover,  I  have  brought  a  bag  of  rice  to  eat  to- 
night, so  that  we  may  start  with  our  stomachs  full." 

They  seized  on  the  loads,  and,  throwing  them  up  to 
their  shoulders,  ran  off  with  them  to  the  camp.  They 
were  a  strong  and  sturdy  lot. 

I  asked  the  headman  Omari  which  way  they  had  come, 
and  told  him  that  they  were  said  not  to  have  passed 
Naivasha.  "  Why,"  said  he,  "  we  camped  alongside  the 
station  there !"  Everything  had  gone  well  so  far,  and 
things  seemed  doubly  satisfactory  after  the  fears  I  had 
entertained  lest  my  men  should  not  have  arrived. 

After  three  weeks  laid  up  in  bed  in  a  house  in  Nairobi, 
the  fresh  air,  the  camp,  the  short  grass — everything  seemed 
glorious.  Above  all  was  the  fascination  of  the  unknown 
in  front,  and  the  feeling  that  I  was  absolutely  free  to  go 
where  I  pleased  and  do  as  I  liked.  As  I  stepped  into 
my  tent,  a  place  already  associated  with  many  happy 


28    PREPARATIONS  FOR  JOURNEY 


memories,  I  felt  as  if  all  the  fetters  of  civilization  and  its 
abominations  slipped  from  me. 

There  was  a  time  when  I  felt  strange  and  lonely  in  the 
bush,  a  want  of  confidence  in  my  ability  to  find  my  way 
about,  and  a  feeling  of  insecurity  if  I  should  get  out  of 
sight  of  native  guides.  Now,  even  when  utterly  alone,  I 
feel  a  strange  exultant  confidence  in  myself.  Whether 
the  country  is  known  or  unknown  to  me,  it  all  seems 
familiar.  The  bush  now  wears  a  friendly  aspect,  and 
welcomes  me  to  its  bosom.  It  is  only  when  I  meet 
with  roads  and  houses  that  the  feeling  of  insecurity 
returns. 

I  was  fortunate  in  finding  Collyer,  the  District  Com- 
missioner of  Rumuruti,  camped  at  Gilgil.  He  gave  me 
dinner  that  night,  and  many  useful  tips  about  the  country 
I  was  to  visit.  He  had  sent  for  guides  to  meet  me  at 
Rumuruti  ;  he  placed  his  house,  stores,  drinks,  and  boys 
at  my  disposal,  helped  me  to  fit  my  donkey-saddles,  and 
altogether  rendered  me  invaluable  assistance.  For  all 
his  kindnesses  I  here  offer  him  my  most  grateful  thanks 

Next  morning  everyone  was  up  early,  and  we  com- 
menced fitting  donkey-saddles,  adjusting  loads,  and  per- 
forming the  hundred  and  one  little  operations  which  crop 
up  at  the  last  moment. 

At  last,  at  2  p.m.,  all  was  ready.  The  great  point  about 
the  first  day  is  to  get  somewhere,  if  it  is  only  a  mile  or 
two,  as  it  then  insures  a  satisfactory  start  for  the  next 
day,  as  everything  has  shaken  down  into  its  place.  If  the 
start  is  deferred  to  the  next  morning,  a  further  distribution 
and  arrangement  of  loads  is  generally  required,  and  nothing 
gets  ship-shape. 

So,  as  I  knew  there  was  a  stream  about  five  miles  ahead 
on  the  Laikipia  road,  I  arranged  to  camp  there,  and  with 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  JOURNEY  29 


final  adjustments  and  arranging  of  loads  and  donkeys,  the 
caravan  eventually  straggled  off. 

The  numerical  strength  was  as  follows  : 

19  porters  for  loads, 
6  men  for  donkeys, 
1  headman  of  porters, 

1  headman  of  transport, 

2  men  to  carry  theodolite  and  instruments 

in  use, 
1  gun-bearer, 

1  sais  for  mule, 

2  servants, 
1  dog, 

making  thirty-four  mouths  to  be  fed,  besides  which  there 
were  twenty  donkeys  and  one  mule. 

The  tribes  represented  by  this  band  were  very  varied. 
They  chiefly  consisted  of  Wanyamwezi  porters,  but  there 
were  also  one  Manyema,  one  Swahili,  one  Comoro,  one 
Masai,  one  Kikuyu,  one  Somali,  and  one  Mganda. 

As  they  were  all  old  hands  on  trek,  the  common  language 
amongst  them  was  Swahili,  although  some  of  the  Wanyam- 
wezi used  occasionally  to  speak  to  each  other  in  their  own 
tongue. 

The  gun-bearer,  Tengeneza,  had  been  with  me  for  the 
best  part  of  two  years,  but  I  had  never  inquired  to  which 
tribe  he  belonged.  It  was  only  now,  when  I  heard  him 
speaking  Kinyamwezi  to  the  porters,  that  I  discovered 
that  he  was  a  Mnyamwezi. 

Excellent  porters  are  the  Wanyamwezi,  but  in  bush- 
craft  they  are  painfully  weak.  Tengeneza  is  the  only 
Mnyamwezi  I  have  ever  met  who  has  any  idea  of  tracking 
and  bush-craft. 


30    PREPARATIONS  FOR  JOURNEY 


Of  food  for  the  porters  we  took  sufficient  to  last  us  to 
Rumuruti,  and  also  some  loads  of  rice  to  be  given  out  at 
intervals  during  the  trek  as  a  change  from  ordinary  food. 
I  had  ascertained  that  plenty  of  food  was  to  be  had  from 
a  native  trader  at  Rumuruti.  I  hoped  also  to  obtain 
more  donkeys  there  to  carry  the  food. 

Now,  although  I  had  settled  on  my  general  route  some 
years  ago— viz.,  that  I  should  start  from  Nairobi  and 
finish  up  at  Djibouti — I  had  never  made  any  very  definite 
plans  with  regard  to  the  journey.  My  intention  was  to 
avoid  Teleki's  route  along  Rudolf,  and  pass  somewhere 
eastwards,  thus  striking  new  country,  and  also  to  visit 
the  Omo  River,  and  the  country  immediately  north-east 
of  it,  which  was  almost  unknown. 

Up  to  the  day  before  my  departure  I  had  not  decided 
whether  I  should  leave  the  administrated  part  of  British 
East  Africa  by  Baringo  or  by  Rumuruti.  I  finally  decided 
in  favour  of  Rumuruti,  because  that  would  enable  me  to 
strike  new  country  sooner. 

However,  the  country  north  of  the  Laikipia  plateau 
was  reported  as  waterless,  and  several  men  whom  I  con- 
sulted thought  that  I  should  be  unable  to  find  a  route 
northwards  from  there,  and  should  eventually  be  com- 
pelled to  take  the  known  Baringo  route. 

Thus,  even  now  that  I  was  on  my  way  to  Rumuruti,  I 
did  not  know  that  I  might  not  be  forced  to  travel  west- 
wards from  there,  and  start  from  Baringo,  instead  of 
proceeding  directly  northwards. 


CHAPTER  II 


TEEK  TO  LAIKIPIA 

The  distance  from  Gilgil  to  Rumuruti  is  about  sixty-five 
miles.  We  had  covered  but  a  few  miles  the  first  day, 
and  now  there  were  sixty  more  to  traverse.  This  I 
intended  to  accomplish  in  four  days. 

We  started  to  load  the  donkeys  at  sunrise  on  the  second 
day,  but  as  the  men  were  new  to  the  work,  they  were  not 
ready  until  about  an  hour  later. 

Our  way  led  along  the  bottom  of  the  Rift  Valley, 
through  woods  of  juniper-trees  and  a  stunted  camphor- 
tree  called  by  the  Masai  ol-leleshwa.  The  scented  leaves 
of  this  tree  are  used  to  spread  on  the  raised  hurdles  or 
couches  on  which  they  sleep.  These  two  are  the  com- 
monest of  the  Rift  Valley  trees,  and  both  of  them  are 
noticeable  in  that  they  are  so  often  dead  and  dry. 

Sometimes  acres  of  these  dead  trees  are  found  together, 
whilst  amongst  the  camphor-trees  almost  all  those  which 
are  alive,  except  the  merest  shoots,  are  springing  from 
the  side  of  a  dead  tree. 

On  our  right,  as  we  trekked  northwards,  could  be  seen 
the  pointed  peak  of  Kinangop,  and  the  flat  top  of  the 
Aberdare  range,  called  Simbara  by  the  Kikuyus,  a  massive 
hill  thirteen  thousand  feet  high.  North  of  this  the 
Aberdares  tail  away  in  a  long  ridge,  sloping  down  to  the 
Laikipia  plains. 

31 


32  TREK  TO  LAIKIPIA 

After  marching  twelve  miles  we  came  to  a  stream 
joining  the  Morendat  River,  just  on  the  edge  of  the  open 
plains  which  stretch  away  from  the  foot  of  the  Aberdares. 
Not  wishing  to  tire  the  men  and  donkeys  at  the  beginning 
of  the  journey,  I  camped  here.  The  water  was  good,  and 
there  was  plentiful  firewood  from  the  camphor- trees. 
Had  we  gone  on,  we  should  have  been  obliged  to  cross  the 
open  plain,  a  distance  of  five  or  six  miles,  before  finding  a 
suitable  site  for  a  camp. 

On  starting  on  trek  with  a  new  set  of  men  I  am  always 
very  fastidious  about  the  arrangement  of  camp,  the 
duties  of  the  different  porters,  and  other  little  items,  for 
the  first  few  days,  until  everyone  has  got  into  my  ways. 
By  taking  a  little  trouble  at  the  start  an  infinity  of 
bother  is  afterwards  saved,  and  the  men  start  with  the 
idea  that  no  small  detail  will  be  overlooked  or  slipshod 
ways  condoned. 

New  porters  with  a  new  white  man  are  exactly  like 
schoolboys  with  a  new  master.  The  new  schoolmaster, 
if  he  is  not  very  careful  during  the  first  few  days,  may  give 
the  boys  the  impression  that  they  can  make  a  fool  of  him 
— an  impression  which  he  will  probably  never  outlive  as 
long  as  he  remains  at  the  school.  If,  however,  he  wins 
the  boys'  respect  and  confidence  at  the  start,  it  will  matter 
little  what  he  does  later,  or  how  lax  he  is  with  them. 

So  during  these  first  few  days  I  used  to  pry  round 
camp,  and  insist  on  having  everything  in  its  place — loads 
neatly  stacked  under  the  waterproof  sheet,  donkey- 
saddles  ready  to  hand  for  the  early  morning  start,  porters' 
tents  and  fires  down  wind  of  my  camp,  and  a  variety  of 
other  little  matters.  I  used  to  see  that  the  donkeys  were 
properly  grazed,  that  the  loads  were  not  tampered  with, 
that  the  food  was  measured  out  correctly,  and  that  every- 


TREK  TO  LATKIPIA 


33 


thing  was  as  it  should  be.  Later  on  I  was  able  to  re- 
linquish such  daily  and  personal  supervision,  only 
examining  things  from  time  to  time  to  see  that  everything 
was  done  according  to  my  orders. 

Porters  are  good  enough  fellows  on  the  whole,  but 
however  good  they  are  at  their  ordinary  work,  they  always 
worry  one  with  a  lot  of  minor  delinquencies,  such  as  petty 
thefts,  quarrels  amongst  each  other  and  with  the  headman, 
or  with  the  natives  of  the  country,  also  periods  of  careless- 
ness and  forgetfulness.  Such  smaller  matters  are  often 
difficult  to  deal  with  or  to  bring  home  to  the  right  offender. 

However,  there  is  one  thing  which  they  never  seem  to 
realize,  and  that  is  that  they  talk  so  loudly  that  even  in 
one's  tent  one  cannot,  as  a  rule,  help  hearing  what  they 
say.  Often  when  sitting  at  night  working  in  my  tent  I 
have  heard  some  guilty  secret  being  discussed  in  loud  and 
shouting  whispers. 

If  the  matter  was  of  minor  importance  I  would  forget 
that  I  had  heard  it,  but  if  it  seemed  advisable  to  take 
notice  of  it  I  would  perhaps  wait  a  day  or  two,  and  then 
appear  to  find  it  out  suddenly.  Perhaps  I  might  ask 
Abdi,  and  if  he  knew  anything  about  it,  he  would  generally 
tell  me  frankly  all  he  knew.  Omari,  on  the  other  hand, 
would  make  frantic  efforts  to  keep  in  with  both  me  and 
the  porters.  Sometimes  he  would  expose,  with  embellish- 
ments, the  most  trivial  offence,  and  at  others  try  to  shield 
the  men  by  feigning  ignorance,  with  the  result  that  he 
won  respect  neither  from  myself  nor  the  men. 

To  return  from  this  digression  to  our  camp.  After 
seeing  everything  put  ship -shape,  I  strolled  out  with  my 
rifle  and  secured  a  steinbok  for  the  table.  Next  day  we 
got  the  donkeys  off  by  sunrise,  and  proceeded  north-east 
across  the  plain.    We  crossed  the  Morendat  River  at  the 

3 


34 


TREK  TO  LAIKIPIA 


site  of  one  of  my  old  camps,  and  proceeded  past  the 
southern  end  of  the  Olbolossat  swamp  to  the  foot  of  the 
Aberdares,  and  then  turned  off  northwards  along  the 
bottom  of  the  range. 

Here  were  plenty  of  streams  coming  from  the  hills  and 
flowing  into  the  swamp.  After  a  sixteen -miles  trek  we 
camped  above  the  swamp  in  some  thick  grass.  Just 
below  camp  I  saw  something  moving  in  the  grass.  I  went 
down  to  investigate,  and  found  that  it  was  a  reedbuck, 
which  I  shot  for  the  men. 

After  dinner  I  moved  out  to  the  camp-fire,  as  it  was 
cold  at  night,  the  altitude  being  about  seven  thousand 
feet.  Here  I  found  the  men  sitting  round  the  fire,  talking 
and  telling  stories.  Listening  to  these  stories  always 
interests  and  amuses  me,  as  some  of  them  are  distinctly 
humorous,  while  at  all  times  they  give  one  a  very  good 
insight  into  native  ideas  and  ways  of  thinking. 

The  conversation  turned  on  blind  men.  In  the  eyes 
of  the  Arab  and  Swahili  a  blind  man  represents  a  person 
possessed  of  such  evil  cunning  that  the  Almighty  has 
purposely  deprived  him  of  sight  so  as  to  protect  his  fellow- 
men.  The  Arabs  say  that  there  is  no  thief  to  equal  a 
blind  man,  so  what  would  he  be  if  he  had  sight  like  other 
folk? 

Omari,  the  headman,  began  :  "  Once  upon  a  time  a 
blind  man  and  a  friend  were  walking  together  down  a 
road  ;  the  latter  was  carrying  a  bag  of  money.  The  blind 
man  said  to  his  fellow  :  'What  is  that  you  are  carrying  V 
The  other  replied  :  '  A  bag  of  money.' 

"  Presently  the  blind  man  said  :  '  Let  us  sit  down  a 
while  and  talk.'  After  sitting  a  while  the  blind  man 
groped  about  till  he  felt  the  bag.  This  he  took  and  hid 
under  his  clothes.    Presently  he  got  up,  and  said  he  must 


TREK  TO  LAIKIPIA  35 


be  going.  Finding  his  bag  gone,  the  other  knew  that  the 
blind  man  must  have  taken  it.  So  he  followed  him,  and 
discovered  him  hiding  the  stolen  money.  He  drew  near 
and  said  :  '  That  is  my  money.'  '  That  is  untrue,'  replied 
the  blind  man  ;  '  it  is  mine.'  c  Where  did  you  obtain  it  V 
'  Oh,  I  prayed  to  Allah,  and  he  sent  it  me.'  So  he  with- 
drew a  short  distance,  and,  picking  up  stones,  began 
pelting  the  blind  man.  The  blind  man  said  :  '  What  are 
you  throwing  stones  at  a  poor  distressed  blind  man  for  V 
'  I  am  not  throwing  stones  at  you,'  said  the  other.  '  I 
prayed  to  Allah  that  he  would  punish  you,  and  he  is 
throwing  stones  at  you.'  At  this  the  blind  man  fled, 
leaving  the  money  to  the  rightful  owner." 

Sadi,  my  Malindi  boy,  then  said  that  blind  men  could 
perceive  almost  anything  that  a  man  with  sight  could  see. 
"  Once  upon  a  time,  at  Malindi,  there  was  an  Arab  who 
had  a  blind  man  in  his  house.  One  day  he  came  with  a 
sweet  potato  in  his  hand,  and  said  to  the  blind  man  : 
'  Here,  take  this  mango.'  The  blind  man  said:  'No;  it 
is  a  sweet  potato.'  The  next  day  he  brought  a  mango, 
and  said  :  '  Take  this  sweet  potato.'  1  No,'  said  the 
blind  man  ;  '  it  is  a  mango.'  Then  the  Arab  said  :  '  Get 
out  of  my  house  ;  you  are  only  half  blind.'  " 

"  Oh,"  continued  Sadi,  "  blind  men  are  very  bad  men, 
and  Arabs  never  give  them  alms.  Is  not  that  true, 
master  ?"  he  said,  turning  to  me. 

"  Yes,"  I  replied.  "  Have  you  not  heard  the  story  of 
Musa  [Moses]  and  the  blind  man  ?  It  is  written  that  once 
Musa  was  bathing  in  a  big  river,  and  he  lifted  up  his  eyes 
and  saw  a  blind  man  slowly  making  his  way  along  the 
bank.  Then  Musa  had  compassion  on  his  affliction,  and 
prayed  to  Allah  :  '  Oh,  how  hast  thou  afflicted  one  of  these 
thy  creatures  without  cause !   Here  is  this  poor  man  con- 

3—2 


36 


TREK  TO  LA1KIPIA 


demned  to  walk  in  darkness  through  no  fault  of  his  own. 
Take  compassion  on  him,  and  give  him  his  sight.' 

"  Allah  answered  Musa's  prayer,  and  gave  the  man 
sight.  The  blind  man  started  and  looked  round,  and  his 
eyes  fell  on  Musa's  garments  lying  on  the  bank.  These 
he  hastily  picked  up,  and  then  hurried  off. 

"  Musa  shouted  :  '  Stop  !  those  are  my  clothes.'  '  Not 
so,'  said  the  blind  man.  '  These  are  mine  which  I  have 
but  this  moment  put  down  here.' 

"  Then  was  Musa  greatly  angered,  and  prayed  to  Allah 
to  afflict  this  man  with  blindness  once  more.  Allah 
heard  his  prayer,  and  afflicted  the  man  with  blindness 
again.  Then  he  spake  to  Musa,  and  said  :  '  How  little 
is  thy  faith,  0  Musa,  in  that  thou  say  est  that  I  have 
afflicted  one  of  my  creatures  without  cause.'  " 

While  sitting  thus  with  the  men  I  had  an  opportunity 
of  noticing  the  good  discipline  which  existed  amongst 
them.  For  as  they  were  chatting  and  talking  with  me,  in 
a  manner  which  in  the  Indian  native  would  savour  of 
disrespect  or  familiarity,  I  had  occasion  to  speak  to  the 
man  sitting  next  me  on  a  matter  of  duty  connected  with 
the  night  watch.  He  immediately  sprang  to  attention 
to  receive  my  orders,  ran  off  and  informed  the  sentry  of 
my  wishes,  and  returned  to  report  that  he  had  executed 
my  order,  and  then  rejoined  his  comrades. 

Next  day  our  road  led  up  to  the  top  of  the  down-like 
northern  end  of  the  Aberdares,  and  then  gradually  down 
along  the  ridge  through  patches  of  junipers  till,  at  the 
foot  of  the  slope,  we  camped  at  the  edge  of  the  great  open 
plains  of  Laikipia.  Here  we  met  with  the  first  kraals  of 
the  El-burrgu  Masai. 

The  old  Masai  inhabitants  of  Laikipia  were  the  Loikop, 
or  people  inhabiting  the  country  called  Laikipia.  The 


TREK  TO  LAIKIPTA  37 


country  of  Laikipia  then  reached  practically  from  Gilgil 
to  the  Borana.  This  word  is  now  only  used  to  denote  the 
open  plains  south-west  of  the  Lorogai  Mountains  and  north 
of  the  Aberdares.  The  old  Loikop  died  out — some  say 
because  their  cattle  died  of  rinderpest,  others  that  they 
were  scourged  with  smallpox,  and  others,  again,  that  they 
were  exterminated  in  battle  by  the  southern  Masai. 
The  Laikipia  plains  were  then  left  uninhabited  except  for 
a  few  hunters. 

Lately  the  El-burrgu  Masai  have  been  given  this 
country,  and  moved  up  here  on  condition  that  they  gave 
up  all  claims  on  the  Rift  Valley,  and  left  it  open  to  white 
settlers.  The  grazing  is  exceptionally  good,  but  water 
is  scarce  enough  to  make  the  country  unsuitable  for  white 
settlers. 

Abdi,  who  posed  as  a  Masai  as  long  as  he  remained  in 
Masai  country,  went  off  to  call  on  the  neighbouring 
manyata  (kraal).  I  put  off  my  dinner  for  some  time, 
hoping  that  he  would  bring  me  some  milk  to  drink  with 
my  tea.  Finally  I  commenced  it,  and  while  at  dinner 
heard  plover  calling.  This  I  guessed  was  Abdi  returning, 
which  proved  to  be  the  case,  for  shortly  afterwards  he 
turned  up  with  a  gourd  of  milk  for  me.  These  plover 
sleep  on  the  ground,  and  if  they  are  heard  calling  at  night 
it  generally  means  that  someone  is  walking  about  and  has 
disturbed  them. 

Abdi  reported  that  the  goats  in  the  kraal  were  suffering 
from  a  very  malignant  foot  and  mouth  disease,  and  that 
many  were  dying. 

Directly  one  leaves  the  shelter  of  the  Aberdares  a  strong 
east  wind  is  felt.  It  blew  all  day,  but  died  down  at  night. 
This  wind  remained  with  us  till  we  reached  the  north  of 
Lake  Rudolf,  and  we  used  to  hate  it  intensely,  especially 


38 


TREK  TO  LAIKIPIA 


in  the  low  country,  where  it  was  more  powerful,  and  laden 
with  dust  and  sand. 

The  next  day  we  marched  just  over  sixteen  miles  in  to 
Rumuruti,  the  last  station  at  which  we  should  touch. 
The  Guas  Ngiro  (or  Red  River)  runs  in  a  broad  dip 
through  the  level  of  the  plains,  and  in  this  dip,  close  to 
the  station  on  either  bank,  were  planted  crops  of  millet 
and  maize  to  serve  as  food  for  the  hands  employed  here. 
This  was  the  last  cultivation  we  were  to  see  for  many 
months,  and  from  here  enough  food-supplies  for  the  men 
must  be  carried  to  last  till  we  reached  Abyssinia. 

The  Masai  live  entirely  on  meat,  blood,  and  milk,  and 
so  there  is  no  cultivation  in  their  country. 

Close  to  the  station  on  the  bare  wall  of  the  valley  were 
some  camels  grazing,  and  I  asked  the  Indian  clerk  in 
charge  to  whom  they  belonged.  He  told  me  that  a  white 
man  had  just  arrived,  and  these  were  his  baggage  camels. 
This  was  Mr.  G.  Fen  wick,  whom  I  met  later  in  the  day. 
He  had  just  trekked  through  from  Dolo  in  Jubaland,  and 
was  now  on  his  way  to  Nairobi. 

Collyer's  house  was  thrown  open  for  me,  and  his  boys 
made  me  most  comfortable,  and  plied  me  with  all  kinds  of 
luxuries  from  the  District  Commissioner's  stores. 

Here  I  met  Fathili,  the  late  A.  H.  Neumann's  headman, 
and  from  him  I  was  able  to  gain  a  good  deal  of  information 
concerning  the  country  I  intended  to  visit.  He  was 
most  interested  in  my  intended  trip,  as  he  had  been  up  to 
the  Omo  River  with  Neumann.  He  told  me  that  if  I 
visited  the  Reshiat  I  must  ask  for  some  loads  that  Neu- 
mann left  there  in  charge  of  the  chief  and  never  had  an 
opportunity  of  reclaiming. 

A  Suk  guide  turned  up  who  said  that  he  knew  the 
country  ahead,  and  so  I  engaged  him.    Neither  this  guide 


TREK  TO  LAIKIP1A  39 


nor  Fathili  seemed  to  know  whether  I  should  be  able 
to  make  my  way  northwards  from  here.  I  could  get  to 
the  Lorogai  Mountains  easily  enough,  they  said,  and 
from  there  to  Barasoloi  (not  the  place  of  this  name  visited 
by  Teleki),  but  whether  I  could  proceed  from  there  they 
were  uncertain. 

It  was  finally  decided  that  I  should  visit  a  Wandorobo 
kraal  several  days  to  the  north-east,  and  there  obtain  the 
services  of  some  Wandorobo,  who  were  said  to  know  the 
country.  To  take  me  to  this  place,  which  was  called 
Kisima,  two  Masai  were  furnished  by  the  local  chief  Beua. 

Donkeys  were  unobtainable  at  Rumuruti,  so  I  enrolled 
twenty  Kikuyu  porters  to  carry  as  many  loads  of  food  as 
far  as  Barasoloi,  at  which  place  I  hoped  to  get  a  few 
donkeys  from  the  Samburr. 

I  reduced  some  of  my  own  loads,  and  exchanged  some 
of  my  provisions  with  a  local  trader  for  loads  of  food  for 
the  men.  Finally,  I  managed  to  take  with  me,  all  told, 
some  fifty  loads  of  men's  food,  some  being  carried  by 
porters,  some  on  donkeys,  and  some  on  each  man  as 
reserve  rations. 

A  Kikuyu  called  Masharia  offered  his  services  as  a 
guide,  and  was  taken  on.  It  turned  out  that  he  only  knew 
the  country  for  a  few  days  from  Rumuruti,  but  he  proved 
himself  most  useful  in  other  ways,  and  came  right  through 
with  me  to  the  end  of  the  journey.  He  turned  out  to  be 
the  only  reliable  Kikuyu  I  have  ever  met. 

The  Kikuyu,  as  a  rule,  can  seldom  be  induced  to  go 
far  from  their  homes.  Porters  from  this  tribe  are  subject 
to  panics  if  they  get  it  into  their  heads  that  they  are 
going  to  be  taken  to  a  distant  place.  They  will  then 
often  run  away,  for  they  appear  to  have  little  confidence 
in  the  white  man. 


40 


TREK  TO  LAIKIPIA 


Masharia  announced  his  intention  of  coming  as  far  as 
I  would  take  him,  and  later,  when  I  expected  him  to  go 
back  with  the  remainder  of  the  Kikuyu,  he  stoutly 
refused,  and  said  he  wanted  to  go  on. 

With  regard  to  the  other  twenty  Kikuyu  porters, 
knowing  well  the  eccentricities  of  this  race,  I  made  every 
man  say  that  he  agreed  to  the  wages  I  offered  in  the 
presence  of  witnesses,  and  also  made  them  each  say  that 
they  understood  to  what  place  they  were  to  go.  I  was 
glad  later  that  I  had  taken  this  precaution,  for  a  day  or 
two  after  we  left  Rumuruti  they  said  that  they  had 
reached  their  destination,  and  wanted  their  pay,  that  they 
might  return.  I  then  had  no  compunction  in  forcing 
them  to  fulfil  their  agreement. 

Fenwick's  Somalis  looked  on  my  porters  with  great  con- 
tempt, and  would  not  at  first  believe  that  we  intended  to 
tackle  the  waterless  Rendile  and  Borana  countries.  They 
said  that  we  should  never  reach  anywhere,  and  should 
all  die  on  the  way,  telling  Fen  wick  *  "  You  had  better  say 
good-bye  to  your  friend  ;  you  will  never  see  him  again." 

Fenwick  made  me  some  most  valuable  and  useful 
presents — viz.,  two  water-casks  and  some  gras  ammuni- 
tion. The  latter  was  of  service  when  we  reached  Abyssinia, 
and  the  former  indispensable  on  the  way. 

Porters,  guides,  and  food  being  all  arranged  for, 
Fenwick  and  I  dined  together,  and  went  over  his  accom- 
plished journey  and  my  prospective  trip  till  a  late  hour. 

Early  next  morning  we  started  loading  up  our  respective 
animals,  he  to  return  to  civilization  and  I  to  leave  it. 
I  said  good-bye  to  Fathili,  and  then  shook  hands  with 
Fenwick,  the  last  white  man  I  was  to  see  for  half  a  year  ; 
his  camels  filed  out  of  the  station  southwards  and  my 
donkeys  jostled  out  eastwards. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  LAIKIPIA  PLAINS 

It  was  with  a  feeling  of  relief  that  I  left  Rumuruti  behind 
me,  as  now  my  journey  had  begun  in  earnest.  I  had 
been  haunted  by  a  fear  that  something  unexpected  might 
turn  up  to  spoil  my  trip.  Now  that  we  had  left  the  last 
outposts  of  civilization,  it  only  depended  on  myself  as 
to  whether  the  trip  would  be  successfully  accomplished 
or  not. 

As  loads  had  been  redistributed  and  the  donkeys  were 
all  now  laden,  the  first  day  out  from  Rumuruti  much 
resembled  the  first  day's  trek.  We  only  travelled  six  or 
seven  miles,  so  that  everything  might  shake  down  into 
its  proper  place.  We  camped  on  a  little  permanent 
stream  called  Haiyam.  Close  to  our  camp  were  some 
Masai  kraals,  and  it  was  the  path  to  these  kraals  that  we 
had  followed  on  the  march.  Some  Masai  elders  came  to 
visit  me,  and  brought  a  gourd  of  milk. 

These  Masai  gourds  are  decorated  with  cowries,  which 
are  sewn  on  in  rows  with  the  tail  hairs  of  zebra  or  giraffe. 
Little  holes  are  bored  in  the  sides  of  the  gourd,  through 
which  these  hairs  pass  and  repass.  As  the  mouth  of  the 
gourd  is  often  too  small  to  admit  the  hand,  it  is  a  puzzle 
how  a  hair,  after  being  pushed  through  a  hole,  is  made 
to  turn  round  inside  and  come  out  at  the  next  hole. 

The  solution  of  the  problem  is  that  a  doubled  hair  is 

41 


42  THE  LAIKIPIA  PLAINS 


pushed  through  a  hole.  This,  on  reaching  the  inside  of 
the  gourd,  opens  into  a  loop.  A  straight  hair  is  then 
pushed  down  the  neck  of  the  gourd,  till  it  passes  through, 
this  loop,  and  the  loop  is  then  drawn  out  again,  bringing 
the  end  of  the  second  hair  with  it. 

I  gave  the  old  men  some  strings  of  blue  Masai  beads 
in  return  for  the  milk.  It  was  at  once  apparent  how 
much  more  satisfactory  are  trade  goods  with  natives 
than  payments  in  money.  Had  I  given  them  a  rupee, 
one  of  the  old  men  would  have  looked  at  it,  tied  it  up  in 
a  corner  of  his  robe,  and  walked  off,  feeling  somehow 
that  he  had  received  a  thing  of  little  value. 

On  receipt  of  a  few  strings  of  beads,  worth  an  anna  or 
two,  they  all  sat  down  on  the  ground  and  talked  over  them, 
broke  the  strings,  and  kept  on  letting  the  beads  slip  off ; 
carefully  picked  them  up,  restrung  them,  and  divided 
them  up  again  ;  dropped  and  picked  them  up  again, 
and  altogether  had  a  lot  of  fun  with  them,  finally  going 
off  delighted. 

The  El-burrgu  Masai  now  occupy  the  Laikipia  plateau, 
extending  to  the  north-east  as  far  as  the  Lorogai  Moun- 
tains. Their  chief  is  Beua,  whom  we  saw  at  Rumuruti. 
The  chief  of  all  the  Masai  is  Ol-lunana,  who  lives  at  Ngong 
Mountain,  near  Nairobi. 

The  greater  Masai  chiefs  are  supposed  to  be  seers 
and  medicine-men.  Amongst  other  miraculous  powers 
of  which  they  are  supposed  to  be  possessed  is  that  of 
being  able  to  transfer  themselves  to  distant  places  at  will. 
Beua  told  us  :  "  Ol-lunana  comes  here  almost  every  night 
to  talk  with  me,  and  if  he  does  not  come  here,  I  go  down 
to  Ngong  to  see  him." 

With  reference  to  this  thought-transference,  believed 
in  by  the  Masai,  I  was  at  another  time  informed  that, 


The  Sais  with  Masai  Sulsul 

The  sulsul  is  made  of  ostrich  feathers,  and  affixed  to  the  point  of  a  spear  as  an  emblem  of  peace. 


THE  LAIKIPIA  PLAINS  43 


whilst  01-lunana  was  at  war  with  his  brother  Sindeyo, 
they  visited  one  another  in  spirit,  and  patched  up  their 
dispute. 

There  does  not  appear  to  be  ever  a  very  heavy  rainfall 
on  this  Laikipia  plateau,  and,  as  the  country  is  dry, 
whatever  rain  there  is  sinks  quickly  into  the  soil,  and  so 
does  not  cut  up  the  surface  into  deep  ravines  and  water- 
courses. It  is  only  just  below  the  rocky  ground  and  steep 
descents  such  as  the  Aberdares  and  Lorogai  Mountains 
that  these  are  found. 

The  greater  part  of  the  plains  consists  of  very  gently 
undulating  downs  of  short  grass  and  good  grazing,  but 
with  little  water.  Occasionally,  however,  there  are 
patches  of  rocky  soil,  and  just  below  these  are  found 
watercourses,  and  water  often  accumulates  in  pools  in 
ravines  such  as  these. 

In  a  few  places  water  wells  up  to  the  surface  and  forms 
little  pools  surrounded  by  rushes  and  black,  saltish  earth. 
These  places  are  called  sohota  by  the  Masai.  The  water 
is  often  brackish  and  very  foul,  as  flocks  are  brought 
from  far  to  drink,  and  paw  up  and  eat  the  saltish  earth 
round  the  margin. 

As  camp  had  to  be  arranged  to  suit  water-holes,  and 
the  two  Masai  guides  were  as  vague  about  distances  as 
African  guides  generally  are,  it  was  rather  hard  always 
to  insure  a  good  day's  march.  When  he  arrives  at  a 
water-hole  after  a  short  march,  the  traveller  generally 
does  not  wish  to  waste  time  by  camping  after  such  a 
short  journey,  but  to  go  on  to  the  next  water-hole,  if  it 
is  within  reasonable  distance.  On  the  other  hand,  he  does 
not  wish  to  let  his  men  in  for  a  long  waterless  march  during 
the  heat  of  the  day  and  on  top  of  the  march  already  made. 

He  then  has  recourse  to  his  guides,  and  wastes  perhaps 


44  THE  LAIKIPIA  PLAINS 


an  hour  trying  to  ascertain  the  distance  to  the  next  water, 
without  being  able  to  arrive  at  any  conclusion.  After 
this  he  does  what  he  might  have  done  at  the  beginning — 
he  either  camps  or  goes  forward  on  the  chance  that  it 
is  only  a  short  distance. 

My  two  Masai  guides  knew  the  country  quite  well,  and 
were  frequently  present  when  there  was  any  difficulty 
about  finding  the  way.  However,  they  were  as  annoying 
as  most  guides  about  distances,  for  they  had  two  stock 
times  for  the  distance  to  the  next  water.  If  I  asked  them 
how  far  the  next  water  was  on  arrival  at  a  water-hole, 
it  was  always  six  hours  distant.  If  I  camped  there  and 
asked  them  the  distance  the  next  morning  to  the  same 
place,  it  was  always  four  hours. 

The  first  distance,  six  hours  or  eighteen  miles,  was  a 
bit  too  much  for  men  and  donkeys  after  even  a  short 
march  of  a  couple  of  hours.  If,  however,  the  next 
morning's  distance  of  four  hours  had  been  given,  it  would 
often  have  been  worth  while  going  on. 

We  left  the  path  at  Haiyam,  and  trekked  fifteen  miles 
across  country  to  some  pools  in  a  rocky  bed  called 
Margwe.  There  was  no  track  till  we  came  within  a  mile 
or  two  of  the  pools,  when  we  struck  an  old  path  leading 
past  some  disused  kraals.  From  this  track  game  paths 
led  down  to  the  pools.  These  pools  are  said  to  dry  up 
occasionally,  and  in  any  case  they  are  insufficient  for 
watering  stock  except  during  rain. 

When  we  got  into  camp  it  was  found  that  the  headman 
and  two  porters  were  lost.  This  was  due  to  my  care- 
lessness in  not  ascertaining  that  everyone  was  present 
every  time  we  halted  to  close  up.  The  men  have  an 
annoying  way  of  always  saying  "  Yes  "  when  one  asks  if 
all  are  present. 


THE  LAIK1PIA  PLAINS  45 


We  fired  off  rifles,  and  after  waiting  a  little,  I  sent 
out  two  parties  in  different  directions,  and  myself  took 
a  third  way.  I  thought  that  perhaps  they  had  got  on 
the  old  path,  and  followed  it  without  turning  off  on  the 
game  tracks.  However,  I  found  no  tracks  on  this  path, 
so  made  a  circular  tour,  and  then  returned  to  camp, 
seeing  one  rhino,  one  cock  ostrich,  and  one  greater  bustard, 
as  well  as  a  certain  amount  of  other  game,  on  the  way. 

As  I  got  near  the  camp,  I  saw  Omari  and  the  two 
missing  porters  being  brought  in  from  the  other  side, 
and  a  line  of  porters  in  extended  order  advancing  up  the 
ridge  towards  me.  When  I  met  them  I  asked  what  they 
were  doing,  and  they  said  that  they  thought  that  perhaps 
I  was  lost  now,  and  that  they  had  come  to  look  for  me. 

Next  day  we  marched  northward  from  Margwe  for  five 
or  six  miles,  and  then  struck  a  broad  cattle-road,  which 
led  us  to  a  sokota,  where  thousands  of  sheep  and  goats 
were  being  watered. 

The  heat  haze  distorts  objects  so  much  on  these  great 
open  plains  that  at  a  thousand  yards'  distance  it  would 
often  be  impossible  to  distinguish  between  a  flock  of 
sheep  and  a  herd  of  cattle  or  game  if  it  were  not  for  the 
herdsmen.  In  this  case  we  saw  waves  of  moving  animals, 
and  every  here  and  there  a  narrow  black  object  rising  to 
a  higher  level,  so  we  knew  them  to  be  sheep  and  goats. 

A  strong  east  wind  was  blowing  as  usual,  and  the  air 
to  their  leeward  side  was  dense  with  the  dust  they  dis- 
turbed. Passing  round  the  south  of  the  sokota,  we  travelled 
up  a  nullah,  in  which  were  a  few  pools,  and  there  crossed 
a  stony  rise,  from  which  we  obtained  our  first  view  of  the 
Lorogai  Mountains,  and  also  saw  below  us  the  Sokota 
Naibor  (the  White  Swamp),  where  we  were  to  camp. 
The  day's  trek  was  just  over  sixteen  miles. 


46  THE  LAIKIPIA  PLAINS 


Soon  after  arrival  in  camp  the  mule  uprooted  the  bush 
to  which  he  was  tied.  When  he  moved  and  saw  the  bush 
following  him  on  the  end  of  his  halter,  he  galloped  off  in 
wild  alarm,  dragging  the  bush  after  him.  We  followed 
and  tracked  him  back  to  the  stony  hill  we  had  descended, 
and  there  we  saw  that  he  had  taken  the  track  by  which  we 
had  come  down.  I  never  thought  to  see  him  again,  feeling 
certain  that  he  would  go  straight  back  to  Rumuruti  or 
Nairobi.  I  sent  the  sais  to  look  for  him  with  one  of  the 
guides,  arranging  that  he  should  catch  us  up  at  Kisima 
while  we  were  arranging  for  new  guides. 

We  moved  on  about  twelve  miles  to  Sokota  Almarr- 
marr,  and  here  they  caught  us  up  again,  bringing  the 
mule  and  two  Torobo  hunters. 

It  appeared  that  the  mule  went  straight  back  to  our 
last  camp  at  Margwe,  and  having  arrived  there,  took  up 
his  position  under  the  tree  to  which  he  had  been  tethered, 
and  waited  for  food  and  water  to  be  brought  him.  The 
two  Torobo  had  found  him  there,  and  catching  him,  had 
been  bringing  him  along  when  the  sais  met  them. 

The  Torobo  are  a  race  of  hunters  of  much  the  same 
origin  as  the  Masai,  and  speaking  a  language  something 
like  the  Nandi.  They  call  themselves  Ogieg,  but  the 
Masai  call  them  Torobo,  and  the  Swahili  Wandorobo. 

Many  natives  would  have  been  afraid  to  handle  a 
strange  beast  like  a  mule,  whilst  others,  again,  would 
have  left  it  alone  lest  they  should  be  accused  of  theft. 
The  Torobo  are,  however,  a  very  intelligent  and  very 
independent  people,  and  I  was  much  impressed  by  the 
sensible  way  in  which  these  men  had  brought  the  mule  along 
without  even  waiting  for  someone  to  come  and  claim  it. 

Being  overjoyed  at  getting  him  back,  I  naturally  wished 
to  reward  them  adequately,  but  they  did  not  seem  to 


THE  LAIKIPIA  PLAINS  47 


care  about  anything  I  offered  them.  Being  simple 
hunters  who  wore  no  clothes,  it  was  rather  a  problem  to 
find  something  to  give  them.  At  last,  in  despair,  I  told 
the  sais,  who  spoke  their  language,  to  ask  them  what 
they  wanted,  and  if  it  was  anything  I  could  give  them, 
they  should  have  it.  After  conferring  together,  they  said 
that  they  would  like  some  meat,  so  I  had  then  and  there 
to  go  out  and  procure  them  some. 

The  same  night  we  heard  Hons  roaring,  and  I  felt  very 
thankful  that  they  had  not  got  my  mule. 

Next  day  we  passed  over  some  stony  rises,  and  then 
came  to  a  plain,  at  the  other  side  of  which  rose  up  the 
Lorogai  Range,  or,  as  it  is  called  here,  01-grisian.  In 
the  midst  of  this  plain  is  a  watercourse,  in  which  there 
were  pools  of  water.  On  the  banks  were  the  usual 
thorn-trees,  such  as  are  found  along  the  course  of  the 
Athi  River  on  the  plains  of  that  name.  We  camped 
here  near  a  Masai  kraal. 

This  watercourse  was  called  Engare  Narok  (the  Black- 
water),  and  a  few  miles  to  the  east  was  the  watercourse 
called  Kisima,  to  which  we  had  intended  to  go. 

We  learnt  here  that  the  Torobo  guide  recommended 
by  Fathili,  for  whom  we  were  searching,  had  moved  his 
kraal  southwards.  I  sent  the  guides  and  one  porter  to 
fetch  him,  whilst  I  remained  to  take  observations.  The 
Masai  here  said  that  they  killed  a  lion  a  few  days  back. 
Oryx  appeared  to  be  fairly  plentiful  near  here,  especially 
towards  01-grisian. 

Whilst  taking  an  azimuth  of  the  sun  at  this  place, 
I  got  the  rays  directly  on  my  forehead,  which  gave  me 
a  slight  sunstroke,  and  I  had  to  spend  the  night  with 
towels  soaked  in  cold  water  round  my  head.  Although 
I  continued  to  take  observations,  my  head  was  so  affected 


48  THE  LAIKIPIA  PLAINS 


that  they  were  of  no  use,  for  when  I  came  to  look  at  them 
later,  I  found  that  I  had  written  down  all  sorts  of  wrong 
figures. 

The  party  sent  to  look  for  the  Torobo  returned  with  him, 
but  as  he  appeared  to  know  nothing  of  the  country  in 
front,  I  left  him.  The  Masai  here  also  knew  nothing  of 
the  country  at  the  other  side  of  the  Lorogai,  and  seemed 
never  to  have  visited  the  Samburr  country. 

They  said,  however,  that  there  was  a  Torobo  kraal 
northwards  where  there  were  men  who  knew  the  Samburr 
country.  We  therefore  trekked  on  to  their  kraal,  which 
was  at  a  place  called  Sukota  Luporr. 

One  of  the  donkeys  died  of  tsetse -bite  at  Engare  Narok. 
This  made  me  anxious  to  push  on  quickly  to  the  Samburr 
country,  where  I  hoped  to  be  able  to  buy  more  donkeys, 
as  I  feared  that  many  more  might  suddenly  die,  for  if 
one  had  tsetse,  others  were  certain  to  have  it  likewise. 

The  Kikuyu  porters  had  been  complaining  bitterly  for 
several  days  that  they  had  never  agreed  to  come  so  far, 
and  they  threatened  to  run  away.  I  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  Kikuyu  are  really  not  such  fools  as  they 
pretend  to  be.  They  always  feign  so  innocently  not  to 
have  understood  the  arrangements  that  one  is  half  bluffed 
into  thinking  that  they  really  believe  they  are  being 
treated  unfairly. 

On  this  occasion  I  had  given  out  so  many  days'  rations 
to  each  man,  and  it  was  carefully  explained  to  them  for 
how  many  days  they  had  drawn  food.  A  day  before  this 
should  have  been  finished  they  came  to  ask  for  more. 
They  swore  that  I  had  said  one  day  less  than  I  had,  and 
also  counted  the  day  to  which  their  last  issue  of  rations 
extended  as  the  first  of  the  new  issue.  This  they  did  so 
well  that  I  was  really  bluffed  into  thinking  that  they  had 


THE  LAIKIPIA  PLAINS  49 


not  understood.  Rather  than  that  they  should  think 
themselves  defrauded,  I  gave  out  an  extra  ration,  as  I 
was  afraid  that  they  might  carry  out  their  threat  and  run 
away  otherwise. 

When  the  headman  giving  out  rations  came  to  Mash- 
aria  (the  Kikuyu  who  wanted  to  accompany  us  the 
whole  way),  he  said  that  he  had,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
finished  his  rations  because  he  had  eaten  too  much,  but 
that  he  knew  perfectly  well  that  he  was  not  entitled  to 
another  ration  till  the  morrow.  I  then  realized  that  I 
had  been  taken  in  by  the  others,  as  they  must  have  under- 
stood as  well  as  Masharia.  The  only  difference  was 
that  they  were  anxious  to  get  back,  and  lost  nothing  by 
making  trouble,  whereas  their  fellow,  who  wanted  per- 
manent work  with  us,  thought  it  inadvisable  to  play  the 
fool. 

So  when  they  told  me  that  they  were  going  to  run  away, 
and  had  not  understood  that  they  were  coming  so  far,  I 
merely  ordered  my  other  porters  to  put  a  guard  over 
them  at  night,  and  to  tie  up  anyone  who  tried  to  run 
away.  We  found  two  Torobo  who  knew  the  path  across 
the  Lorogai  to  the  Samburr  country,  and  they  agreed  to 
take  us  as  far  as  the  first  Samburr  kraal,  but  no  farther. 
There  was  no  water  to  be  had  on  the  way  we  were  taking 
across  the  mountains,  and  so  preparations  had  to  be  made 
to  carry  it.  The  tanks  and  barrels  up  to  now  had  been 
carried  empty,  one  man  taking  two. 

As  some  of  the  loads  of  food  had  been  eaten,  we  had 
some  spare  men,  so  were  able  to  fill  the  tanks,  giving  one 
to  each  man.  These  tanks  had  been  specially  made  for 
me  so  as  to  be  a  one-man  load  when  filled.  A  donkey 
would  take  two  and  a  camel  four. 

There  was  a  little  hill  just  above  our  camp  called 

4 


50  THE  LAIKIPIA  PLAINS 


Ladero  (The  Rat).  In  front  of  us,  to  the  north-east,  we 
could  see  that  there  was  a  pass  in  the  Lorogai  Range. 
The  natives  here  only  call  the  part  of  the  range  north-west 
of  this  pass  Lorogai,  and  also  Losirgon.  That  part  of  the 
chain  to  the  south-east  they  call  Ol-grisian,  and  also 
Bawa. 

Our  guides  said  that  it  was  one  march  to  the  top  of  the 
pass,  where  there  was  no  water,  and  another  long  march 
from  there  to  water  on  the  other  side  of  the  range. 

For  this  reason  we  decided  to  start  about  midday, 
instead  of  in  the  morning.  Where  there  is  a  stretch  of 
two  days  between  water  this  is  a  convenient  arrangement, 
for  the  men  can  cook  their  food  in  the  morning  and  eat  it 
just  before  starting,  and  the  animals  can  be  watered  at 
the  same  time.  They  then  trek  for  the  rest  of  that  day, 
and,  if  there  is  a  moon,  part  of  the  night,  sleep,  and  start 
early  next  morning,  arriving  at  water  the  following  noon. 
If  a  morning  start  is  made,  more  time  is  occupied  in 
travelling  between  the  two  watering  places,  and  this 
means  that  a  longer  time  is  spent  without  the  men  being 
able  to  cook. 

We  did  not,  however,  get  away  from  camp  at  noon  as 
intended,  for  my  sketching  and  observations  took  longer 
than  I  had  thought,  and  I  did  not  get  back  to  camp  until 
1.30.  I  found  the  donkeys  ready  to  start,  so  I  sent  them 
off,  and  after  a  hurried  breakfast,  followed  with  the  men. 
Our  way  led  up  and  over  a  low  spur  from  Ol-grisian  called 
01  doinyo  Motio  (Cooking-Pot  Hill),  and  then  by  a  gradual 
and  easy  ascent  to  the  top  of  the  pass.  Here  we  arrived 
at  dark,  and  camped  in  a  place  called  Ol-laredanari- 
lo'olmesi,  not  a  bad  rival  in  names  to  the  Llanfair 
pwllgwyngyll,  etc.,  of  North  Wales. 

There  were  plenty  of  fallen  junipers  lying  about,  so  we 


THE  LAIKIPIA  PLAINS 


51 


made  up  big  fires,  as  the  night  was  chilly,  the  altitude 
being  about  eight  thousand  feet. 

During  the  march  there  had  been  abundant  evidences 
that  elephant  and  rhino  visited  these  mountains  during 
the  rains,  but  there  were  no  recent  traces,  probably  owing 
to  the  lack  of  water  at  this  time  of  the  year.  It  seemed 
extraordinary  that  there  should  be  no  water  at  such  an 
altitude,  and  every  moment  we  expected  to  come  across 
a  stream  or  find  a  spring  oozing  out  of  the  side  of  a  hill. 
I  hardly  believed  the  guides  till  I  had  inspected  the  valleys 
and  hollows  myself.  They  were  quite  right,  however, 
though  they  said  that  there  was  water  in  other  parts  of 
the  range. 

Another  proof  was  the  presence  of  uninhabited  Masai 
kraals  here  and  there.  They,  like  the  elephant  and  rhino, 
only  visited  this  spot  during  the  rains. 

Ol-laredanarilo'olmesi  was  our  first  waterless  camp,  and 
it  proved  to  be  the  first  in  a  very  long  series  of  waterless  halts 
and  long  forced  marches  between  water-holes.  Although  I 
did  not  then  know  how  many  months  it  would  be  before 
we  reached  a  well-watered  country  again,  I  thought  fit 
to  improve  the  minds  of  the  men  on  the  subject  of  being 
careful  of  water. 

Each  of  the  men  and  the  guides  had  the  regulation 
water-bottle,  and  in  addition  to  that  I  made  them  carry 
gourds,  either  a  small  one  each  or  a  large  one  between  two 
or  three.  The  Kikuyu  porters  had,  of  course,  no  water- 
bottles  or  gourds,  as  they  had  been  enlisted  only  for  the 
journey  to  Barasoloi,  so  I  distributed  first  of  all  sufficient 
water  for  them,  and  then,  putting  aside  a  small  reserve  in 
case  we  should  not  reach  water  as  early  as  anticipated, 
divided  the  remainder  amongst  the  others. 

Then,  as  they  were  sitting  round  their  fires,  talking 

4—2 


52  THE  LAIKIPIA  PLAINS 


loudly,  I  called  for  silence,  and  said  :  "  Now  hear  my 
words.  To-day  I  have  given  you  water  over  and  above 
that  in  your  water-bottles  out  of  my  kindness.  For  I 
know  the  hearts  of  you  men,  and  that  you  are  fools.  For 
on  leaving  water  you  will  say,  '  What  need  is  there  of  filling 
our  bottles  ?  We  shall  find  water  presently ' ;  or  on  the  way 
you  will  say,  '  Our  water-bottles  are  heavy ;  let  us  pour 
away  the  water ' ;  and  later  you  will  say,  '  Master,  we  are 
dying  of  thirst ;  give  us  water.'  Such  is  the  custom  of 
black  men.  Now  listen  well.  The  country  we  are  going 
to  is  bad  ;  there  will  be  no  water  to  drink,  far  less  will 
there  be  ku  ogea  (to  bathe  in),  ku  nawa  (to  wash  the  hands 
and  face),  ku  tawaza  (to  wash  the  feet  before  praying), 
ku  tamba  (to  make  ceremonial  ablution).  (Laughter.) 

"  Therefore,  every  drop  of  water  you  get  you  must 
guard  carefully.  Not  a  drop  must  be  wasted,  for  that  drop 
may  be  your  life. 

"  Now,  on  the  first  night  in  a  waterless  place  you  will 
never  get  water  from  the  tanks  ;  that  in  your  bottles  and 
gourds  must  suffice.  Only  on  the  second  day  will  you  get 
water  from  the  tanks. 

"  Moreover,  that  you  may  not  think  I  am  troubling  you 
without  cause,  I  will  make  this  agreement  with  you. 
Whatever  water  is  given  out  will  be  divided  equally,  to 
every  man  his  share,  and  my  share  will  be  the  same  as 
yours.  Therefore  you  will  not  be  able  to  come  to  me  and 
say,  '  Master,  we  suffer  from  thirst,'  for  you  will  know 
that  we  shall  all  suffer  equally.  Moreover,  the  heat  of 
the  sun  is  greater  to  me,  a  white  man  ;  therefore  you  will 
know  that  the  water  which  suffices  for  me  will  suffice  also 
for  you." 

To  this  the  porters  replied,  "  Right  ho  !"  (E  walla),  and 
immediately  dismissed  the  matter  from  their  minds. 


THE  LAIKIPIA  PLAINS  53 


As  it  was  dark  on  our  arrival  in  camp  we  did  not  get  a 
view  of  the  country  at  the  other  side  of  the  pass.  Next 
morning,  when  the  mists  cleared  away,  we  found  that  the 
country  was  more  mountainous  and  the  descent  much 
steeper  and  much  greater.  For  the  Lorogai  Mountains 
mark  a  change  in  the  level  of  the  country.  On  the  one 
side  is  the  higher  Laikipia  plateau,  and  on  the  other  side 
a  low  thorn  desert  country,  probably  two  thousand  feet 
below  the  level  of  the  plains.  Owing  to  the  hilly  nature 
of  the  country,  the  day  proved  a  long  and  tiring  one  for 
the  donkeys.  Moreover,  the  guides  at  one  place  lost  the 
track,  and  we  had  to  cut  a  way  through  bush  up  a  steep 
hillside  into  the  open  again,  so  as  to  allow  the  donkeys  to 
pass.  When  we  emerged  from  the  undergrowth,  it  was 
apparent  that  there  was  a  more  level  and  open  way  we 
might  have  taken.  So  we  halted  here,  and  I  sent  back 
men,  who  were  just  in  time  to  meet  the  tail-end  of  the 
caravan  and  bring  them  up  by  this  track. 

We  then  proceeded,  and  after  crossing  a  shoulder, 
suddenly  obtained  a  view  to  the  front.  Just  at  our  feet, 
some  thousand  feet  below  us,  was  a  valley  running  far  up 
into  the  hills.  I  could  see  through  my  glasses  kraals  here 
and  there,  and  cattle  grazing  on  the  floor  of  the  valley, 
and  I  knew  that  these  must  be  the  Samburr,  a  people 
who  are  outside  the  range  of  our  administration. 

Following  the  valley  down,  I  could  see  that  it  led  out 
into  an  arid  thorn  plain  bounded  to  the  north-east  by  a 
great  range  of  mountains,  which  must  be  the  General 
Matthews  Range. 

It  was  to  me  a  wonderfully  interesting  sight,  this  bird's- 
eye  view  of  the  kraals  of  a  strange  people  and  country  so 
suddenly  opened  out  below  me.  I  learnt  from  the  guides 
that  no  white  man  had  ever  traversed  this  pass  before. 


54  THE  LAIKIPIA  PLAINS 


I  watched  the  herds  being  driven  up  the  valley  to  water, 
the  herdsmen  as  yet  unconscious  of  our  presence.  I 
wondered  what  these  people  would  think  of  my  sudden 
advent  amongst  them. 

Would  they  be  friendly,  surly,  or  merely  frightened  ? 
Anyhow,  I  thought  that  our  sudden  appearance  in  their 
midst  would  cause  them  considerable  astonishment. 

At  last  I  put  away  my  glasses,  and  we  commenced  the 
long  and  steep  descent,  speculating  the  while  as  to  what 
reception  we  should  meet  with  at  the  hands  of  the 
Sambnrr. 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  SAMBURR  COUNTRY 

If  I  had  thought  that  the  Samburr  would  be  alarmed  or 
even  astonished  at  my  sudden  appearance,  I  was  to  be 
disappointed.  After  a  long  and  tedious  descent,  which 
was  especially  severe  on  the  donkeys,  we  arrived  on  the 
floor  of  the  valley,  and  here  struck  a  cattle  road  leading 
up  and  down. 

As  we  were  resting  beside  this  road  we  heard  the  sound 
of  wooden  cattle-bells  coming  towards  us,  and  presently 
a  herd  of  cattle  appeared  on  the  road.  They  looked  up 
and  saw  me  sitting  beside  the  way,  and  suddenly  stood 
stock-still,  staring.  After  staring  awhile  they  decided 
that  I  was  dangerous,  and  turned  round  and  bolted. 
They  had  evidently  never  seen  an  object  dressed  in  hat 
and  coat  before. 

If  this  was  what  the  Samburr  cattle  thought  of  me,  I 
wondered  how  the  Samburr  themselves  would  behave, 
and  waited  for  the  appearance  of  the  herdsman  with  some 
interest.  Presently  the  cattle  began  to  return,  evidently 
being  driven  by  someone  behind,  but  this  time  they  made 
a  detour  to  avoid  me  and  my  porters,  who  were  sitting 
behind  me.  Finally  the  herdsman  appeared,  cast  a 
casual  glance  in  my  direction,  and  unconcernedly  walked 
on,  as  if  a  white  man  sitting  beside  the  road  was  the  most 

55 


56         THE  SAMBURR  COUNTRY 


ordinary  object  in  the  world.  I  was  astonished  and  some- 
what piqued  at  his  want  of  interest  in  me. 

I  called  to  Abdi  to  bring  him  to  me,  and  interrogated 
him  about  the  Samburr  kraals  and  the  nearest  water. 
The  Samburr  youth  told  us  that  their  kraal  was  farther 
down  the  valley,  and  that  the  only  water  here  was  higher 
up  in  the  direction  in  which  he  was  driving  the  cattle. 

The  language  of  the  Samburr  is  practically  the  same 
as  that  of  the  Masai,  although  many  of  their  manners  and 
customs  are  different.  There  was  thus  no  difficulty  in 
communicating  with  them  through  Abdi,  while  I  under- 
stood enough  to  follow  the  drift  of  the  conversation. 

It  was  now  past  noon,  so  we  continued  on  our  way 
down  the  valley,  first  of  all  distributing  the  water  which 
remained  and  sending  men  with  the  tanks  to  follow  the 
Samburr  herdsman  and  refill  them. 

A  mile  or  two  down  the  valley  we  came  in  sight  of  a 
large  kraal,  and  passing  close  to  this,  selected  a  camp 
under  some  thorn-trees  just  beyond.  The  people  in  the 
kraal  took  a  faint  interest  in  us  as  we  passed,  and  then 
returned  to  their  duties,  which  chiefly  consisted  of  sitting 
and  doing  nothing.  No  one  came  out  to  stare  at  us  or 
showed  themselves  in  the  least  inquisitive. 

One  might  have  imagined  that  they  were  going  to  ignore 
us  completely  if  it  had  not  been  that,  directly  the  donkeys 
were  unloaded,  a  youth  stepped  forward,  and  herding  them 
together,  without  saying  a  word,  drove  them  off  to  water 
three  miles  back.  He  grazed  them  during  the  rest  of  the 
day,  and  brought  them  back  in  the  evening.  This,  I 
think,  was  the  most  hospitable  and  considerate  act  I  have 
ever  seen  a  native  perform,  as  the  men  were  tired  and  the 
donkeys  thirsty  after  a  long  day. 

Camp  was  pitched,  and  then,  having  given  us  time  to 


THE  SAMBURR  COUNTRY  57 


settle  down  and  get  some  food,  a  deputation  of  old  men 
arrived.  They  stopped  a  little  way  off,  and  sent  word  to 
say  that  they  were  coming  to  see  me.  They  came  in, 
and  after  each  shaking  hands  and  greeting  me  with 
seria,n,  they  sat  round  my  tent.  They  brought  with 
them  a  sheep,  a  goat,  and  multitudinous  gourds  of  milk 
of  all  ages  and  states  of  decomposition,  from  fresh  milk 
to  curdled  milk  a  few  weeks  old.  Most  natives  appreciate 
old  and  curdled  milk,  and  would  not  thank  you  for 
fresh. 

These  were,  I  think,  the  most  delightful  old  men  I 
have  ever  seen  amongst  natives.  They  wrere  extraordin- 
arily intelligent,  and  talked  about  things  and  countries 
one  would  have  imagined  quite  outside  their  ken. 

Especially  were  they  interesting  to  me  in  that  they 
knew  all  the  politics  and  current  events  of  the  Rendile  and 
Borana  countries — countries  I  knew  nothing  about,  and 
which  were  practically  unknown  to  any  of  the  natives  of 
the  countries  I  had  left.  The  Samburr  used  at  one  time 
to  have  scattered  kraals  extending  up  to  Rudolf,  although 
now  they  do  not  live  northwards  of  General  Matthews 
Range  and  01  doinyo  Ngiro. 

They  were  able  to  give  me  a  very  good  general  idea 
of  the  country  I  was  to  visit.  They  told  me  wrhere  one 
could  go  and  where  not  for  want  of  water.  Information 
can  only,  as  a  rule,  be  had  from  natives  by  questioning, 
and  as  I  did  not  know  what  questions  to  ask,  it  was 
somewhat  difficult  to  elicit  all  they  knew.  However,  I 
plied  them  with  questions  on  this  and  two  subsequent 
days,  and  gained  a  wonderful  lot  of  information  from 
them.  These  long  conversations  were  not  at  all  boring, 
as  they  were  such  interesting  old  men,  and  most  hospitable 
and  friendly. 


58         THE  SAMBURR  COUNTRY 


Information  from  natives  is  generally  of  such  a  vague 
description  that  after  it  has  been  obtained  with  much 
difficulty  it  is  hardly  worth  having.  Here,  however,  I 
took  down  pages  of  notes  in  my  pocket-book  of  names  of 
places  with  water,  different  routes,  and  the  distances 
between  places,  history,  customs,  and  distribution  of 
various  tribes,  much  of  which  was  of  the  greatest  value 
afterwards. 

I  thought,  however,  that  if  the  Samburr  knew  all  this 
about  a  distant  country,  how  much  more  the  Rendile 
would  be  able  to  tell  me  when  I  reached  them.  In  this 
I  was  quite  wrong,  as  the  information  I  got  about  the 
Rendile  country  from  the  Samburr  was  much  more 
intelligible  and  accurate  than  the  Rendile  themselves 
afterwards  gave  me  of  their  own  country. 

The  place  at  which  we  were  camped  was  called  Obiroi, 
and  the  Legwanan  (chief)  here  was  named  Lendoiyen.  It 
appeared  that  from  here  there  were  three  routes  north- 
ward— viz.,  one  north-east  to  Marsabit,  one  north  to 
the  Rendile  country,  and  one  north-west  to  Embarta 
steppe.  However,  at  our  first  meeting  the  old  men  only 
stopped  a  short  time,  for  they  said  that  I  must  be  tired 
after  my  journey,  and  that  they  would  leave  me. 

Later  in  the  evening  the  Legwanan  arrived  by  himself, 
sat  down  by  my  tent,  and  said  :  "  Now  I  have  come  to 
hear  all  the  news."  I  replied  that  the  news  was  that 
the  white  men  were  going  to  open  a  station  at  Marsabit. 
Had  they  heard  that  ?  Yes,  they  had  heard  a  rumour, 
but  they  wanted  to  know  more  about  it. 

Then  I  said  that  I  had  heard  there  was  a  very  bad 
cattle  disease  (rinderpest)  in  the  north  of  the  Borana. 
Yes,  they  had  heard  that.  I  warned  them  to  keep 
clear  of  all  cattle  coming  from  there,  not  to  buy  or  ex- 


THE  SAMBURR  COUNTRY 


59 


change  any  cattle  that  might  have  come  from  that  part, 
or  mix  them  with  their  herds. 

As  Barasoloi,  the  place  to  which  the  Kikuyu  porters 
had  agreed  to  go,  was  now  only  a  day's  march  farther,  I 
let  them  go  home  from  here,  hoping  to  be  able  to  buy  a 
few  donkeys  from  the  Samburr,  as  they  appeared  to  have 
plenty. 

Next  day  I  went  out  early,  and  shot  two  Grevy's  zebra, 
as  I  wanted  the  meat  for  the  men  and  the  skins  to  make 
into  new  donkey  saddle-bags.  One  zebra  I  distributed, 
and  the  other  I  made  into  biltong  and  put  by.  Some  of 
my  old  men  friends  went  out  with  me  to  show  me  where 
the  game  was  likely  to  be  found.  This  was  the  first 
time  we  met  with  Grevy's  zebra,  as  it  is  not  found  south 
of  the  Lorogai. 

The  Masai  do  not  eat  game  meat  at  all.  The  Samburr 
eat  certain  kinds  of  game,  such  as  rhino,  oryx,  and 
gazelle,  but  not  zebra.  They  said  that  women  eat  the 
klipspringer  and  small  buck  ;  the  men  do  not. 

On  return  to  camp,  after  having  some  food,  a  conclave 
of  the  old  men  was  assembled,  and  we  broached  the 
subject  of  buying  donkeys.  We  talked  for  hours  on  the 
subject  without  coming  to  any  satisfactory  conclusion. 
For  some  reason  or  other  they  appeared  unwilling  to  sell, 
although  tney  had  plenty.  Then  we  suggested  that  we 
should  hire  donkeys  as  far  as  the  Rendile  country,  and 
more  time  was  spent  in  discussing  this  idea. 

Abdi  was  splendid  at  this  sort  of  thing,  and  argued 
away  for  hours  without  ever  losing  his  temper  or  patience, 
but  was  always  good-tempered  and  resourceful.  At  last 
he  nudged  the  Legwanan,  and  said  to  him  chafhngly  : 
"  Look  here,  you  had  better  fix  up  some  arrangement 
quickly,  or  else  the  white  man  will  run  all  you  old  men 


60         THE  SAMBURR  COUNTRY 


in,  and  make  you  carry  his  loads  for  him."  The  Legwanan 
looked  at  my  tent,  and  held  up  his  hands,  saying  :  "  Who 
could  be  found  to  carry  a  house  like  this  ?" 

Finally  the  old  men  withdrew  a  short  distance,  and, 
sitting  round  in  a  circle,  consulted  with  each  other,  a 
procedure  which  always  takes  place,  even  if  only  one  ox 
is  to  be  sold  from  a  kraal.  Presently  the  Legwanan  re- 
turned, and  asked  whether  it  would  please  me  best  to  buy 
donkeys  or  hire  them.  I  replied  that  I  would  like  to  buy 
them  best,  but  that  if  I  could  not  buy  them  I  would  hire 
them. 

The  Legwanan  returned  to  the  conference,  and  after  a 
further  discussion  they  came  back  to  my  tent,  and  the 
Legwanan  said  :  "  Our  news  is  good  :  you  shall  have  the 
donkeys,  but  we  do  not  know  yet  if  we  will  sell  them  to 
you  or  only  lend  them.  You  must  wait  here  two  days 
while  we  get  in  some  donkeys  and  consult  with  the 
neighbouring  kraals.  While  you  stop  here  you  can  shoot 
game,  and  we  will  come  and  see  you,  for  we  would  not 
like  you  to  go  away  at  once,  but  want  you  to  stop  for  a 
long  time." 

I  was  very  glad  to  hear  this,  as,  now  the  Kikuyu  porters 
had  returned,  I  was  practically  dependent  on  getting 
donkeys  in  order  to  proceed,  unless  I  threw  away  trade 
goods.  I  did  not  like  the  delay,  but  as  the  Samburr  were 
so  pleasant,  I  was  glad  to  fall  in  with  their  wishes  as  much 
as  possible.  They  did  their  best  to  entertain  me  whilst 
I  stopped  with  them,  and  one  or  other  of  the  old  men  was 
always  at  my  camp,  or  accompanied  me  if  I  went  abroad. 
They  certainly  used  to  ask  for  small  presents  occasionally 
— I  have  scarcely  ever  met  with  natives  who  do  not — 
but  they  were  not  so  offensively  clamorous  as  most 
natives. 


THE  SAMBURR  COUNTRY  61 


The  old  man  shown  in  the  photo  with  the  spear  was 
very  anxious  to  know  what  my  name  was,  for,  he  said,  if 
any  other  white  man  passed  he  would  be  able  to  say,  "  I 
knew  such  a  one."  I  told  him,  and  after  practising  it 
several  times,  he  went  off.  After  that  they  used  to  bob 
in  and  out  at  all  times  of  the  day,  calling  out  "  Sirrgon," 
which  was  the  nearest  they  could  get  to  it. 

The  Samburr  are  referred  to  by  Von  Hohnel  and 
Teleki  as  the  Burkeneji.  This  word,  or,  to  be  more 
accurate,  Lo'eborkeneji,  meaning  "  the  (people)  of  the 
white  goats,"  is  the  Masai  name  for  the  Samburr. 

Their  dress  is  much  the  same  as  the  Masai,  consisting 
of  roughly  tanned  goat-skins.  The  men  generally  wear  a 
patch  of  skin  hanging  from  the  shoulder,  being  otherwise 
naked,  while  the  women  are  carefully  dressed  all  over  in 
skins,  drawn  in  at  the  waist  by  a  cord,  and  the  lower  part 
worn  in  the  "  directoire  "  style. 

Their  ornaments  are  much  the  same  as  the  Masai,  but 
their  weapons  are  different.  The  spear  is  long-hafted,  with 
a  short,  fat  blade.  Over  this  blade  a  neat  little  leather 
sheath  is  often  worn.  This  is  also  found  with  the  Turkana, 
Suk,  and  Reshiat,  but  not  with  the  tribes  to  the  south. 

The  shield  differs  from  that  of  the  Masai,  being  quite 
small.  Youths  are  sometimes  seen  with  long,  thin,  basket- 
work  shields,  as  are  found  also  amongst  the  Reshiat. 

The  tribe  appears  to  be  divided  into  several  clans,  eight 
different  names  being  given  me.  Of  these,  the  kraals  at 
Obiroi  and  those  north  of  that  place  were  of  the  Elmasulla 
clan.  The  other  clans  appeared  to  be  mixed  together, 
and,  as  is  usual  with  natives,  they  were  unable  to  tell 
me  anything  intelligible  about  their  distribution  and 
origin. 

Two  of  the  clans  are  Lorogishu  and  Elbisigishu,  these 


62         THE  SAMBURR  COUNTRY 


words  being  corruptions  of  lo'  oroJc  ngishu  and  lo'el  bus 
ngishu,  meaning  "  of  the  black  cow  "  and  "  of  the  spotted 
cow."  They  said  that  the  founders  of  these  clans  pos- 
sessed nothing  until  they  got  one  cow  each,  one  a  black 
and  the  other  a  spotted  cow.  These  multiplied  till  they 
had  a  large  herd,  and  started  clans  of  their  own. 

One  of  my  old  men  friends  had  bad  eyes,  and  asked  if  I 
could  do  something  for  them.  I  made  him  up  a  lotion  for 
them,  and  he  went  off  happy.  My  fame  as  a  medicine- 
man spread,  and  half  the  people  in  the  kraal,  some  of  them 
stone-blind,  came  down  to  have  their  eyes  doctored. 

In  these  cattle  kraals  flies  always  swarm,  and  the 
natives  are  so  used  to  them  that  they  do  not  attempt  to 
brush  them  away,  but  allow  them  to  cluster  in  crowds 
about  their  eyes.  It  is  quite  evident  that  these  flies  convey 
disease  from  one  to  the  other,  as  the  number  of  people 
suffering  from  cataract  and  bad  eyes  in  this  kraal  was  enor- 
mous, whereas  in  some  others  few,  if  any,  were  affected. 

The  Samburr  women  are  very  fond  of  giraffe-hair 
necklaces,  and  I  was  asked  to  go  out  and  shoot  a  giraffe 
for  this  purpose.  By  the  spoor  there  appeared  to  be 
plenty  in  the  neighbourhood,  but  I  always  think  that  it 
is  rather  a  shame  to  kill  such  an  interesting  and  useless 
beast  unless  one  really  wants  a  whole  skin  for  a  museum, 
so  I  refused. 

I  asked  my  old  men  what  was  the  origin  of  the  name  of 
Embarta  steppe,  for  embarta  means  "a  horse."  They 
replied  :  "  Oh,  that  is  just  its  name."  I  then  asked  if 
there  were  never  any  horses  there,  to  which  they  replied 
that  once  the  Borana  came  on  horses  and  fought  there. 
Whether  this  is  an  historical  fact,  or  was  just  said  to  please 
me,  I  do  not  know.  They  also  told  me  that  formerly  the 
Samburr  had  horses,  although  now  they  have  none. 


THE  SAMBURR  COUNTRY  63 


One  must  always  be  so  careful  with  natives  not  to 
suggest  an  answer  when  asking  a  question,  or  they  jump 
to  the  conclusion  that  a  certain  answer  is  required.  One 
can  make  a  native  say  almost  anything  one  likes  by 
putting  questions  to  him  in  certain  forms.  I  have  often 
heard  white  men  settle  some  discussion  amongst  them- 
selves by  asking  their  boys  some  such  questions  as  these  : 

"  Did  Mr.  Jones  come  here  this  afternoon  V 

"  I  don't  know,  master." 

"  Didn't  any  white  man  come  here  ?" 

"  Oh  yes,  master." 

"A  tall  man?" 

"  Yes,  master,  very  tall." 

"With  a  black  beard  ?" 

"  Yes,  master." 

Turning  round  to  his  friend  triumphantly  :  "  There, 
you  see  it  was  Jones  who  came." 

I  have  sometimes  continued  the  interlocution  on  these 
lines  : 

"  A  very  old  man  ?" 

"  Yes,  master." 

"With  grey  hair?" 

"  Yes,  master." 

"And  a  white  beard  ?" 

"  Yes,  master." 

"  As  short  as  you,  or  a  little  shorter  ?" 
"  Yes,  master." 

"  Funny  sort  of  fellow,  your  friend  Jones." 

For  this  reason  one  has  to  be  most  careful  when  eliciting 
information  from  natives,  and  sometimes  it  takes  hours 
to  find  out  some  quite  small  matter. 

I  was  sitting  in  my  tent  at  Obiroi  one  night  writing 
while  there  was  a  very  inharmonious  concert  proceeding 


64         THE  SAMBURR  COUNTRY 


in  the  kraal.  This  had  continued  for  some  hours,  and  was 
rather  worrying  me,  when  it  was  brought  to  an  abrupt 
conclusion.  There  was  suddenly  a  rush  of  thousands  of 
feet  and  tinkling  of  cattle-bells  as  all  the  cattle  in  the 
zariba,  perhaps  several  thousand,  stampeded  to  one  side. 
The  concert  ceased,  donkeys  brayed,  dogs  barked,  cattle 
lowed,  and  men  called  out.  When  peace  reigned  again 
I  saw  burning  faggots  being  thrown  about,  and  a  voice 
said  :  "  You  think  it  is  a  hyena,  or  some  small  animal  ? 
Not  so." 

Next  morning  I  learnt  that  a  lion  had  jumped  the  wall 
of  the  zariba,  fallen  on  some  sheep  and  goats,  killing  four 
or  five,  and  then,  jumping  on  the  roof  of  a  hut,  had  cleared 
out  again,  frightened  by  the  noise,  and  leaving  its  victims 
behind. 

The  Legwanan  came  to  me,  and  said  that  they  had  lost 
many  cattle  owing  to  this  lion,  who  visited  them  regularly, 
and  that  I  would  be  doing  them  a  great  kindness  if  I 
killed  it  for  them.  I  said  that  I  would  do  my  best,  so  I 
went  up  and  examined  the  spot  at  which  it  had  jumped 
over,  and  told  them  to  make  a  hole  in  the  side  of  the 
zariba  through  which  to  fire,  and  to  have  a  goat  tied  up 
outside  that  night. 

The  rest  of  the  day  was  spent  in  further  palavers  about 
the  donkeys,  and  it  was  finally  agreed  that  six  donkeys 
should  be  lent  me  on  the  following  day  to  take  me  as  far 
as  some  Samburr  kraals  under  the  General  Matthews 
Range.  If  I  could  not  obtain  donkeys  there,  they  were 
to  come  as  far  as  the  Rendile  country.  Two  guides  were 
also  to  be  produced. 

This  being  settled,  I  took  some  observations,  and 
obtained  some  last  tips  from  the  Legwanan  about  the 
country  in  front.   He  told  me  that  the  other  side  of  the 


THE  SAMBURR  COUNTRY  65 


General  Matthews  Range,  which  the  Samburr  call  Doto 
at  the  north-west  end,  and  Lengiyo  at  the  south-east,  I 
should  meet  with  a  Rendile  chief  called  Leshaulil. 
Curiously  enough,  this  was  the  first  Rendile  whom  I  met. 

The  Samburr  are  on  very  friendly  terms  with  the 
Rendile,  and  have  been  so  for  a  long  time,  although  both 
these  tribes  have  exchanged  hostilities  with  most  of  the 
other  tribes  of  the  neighbourhood. 

It  appeared  that  the  Samburr  had  a  few  baggage-camels 
I  had  not  seen  them,  as  they  had  been  away,  but  this 
evening  they  came  back  to  the  kraal.    After  dinner  I 
went  up  to  the  kraal  with  Abdi  and  Tengeneza  to  sit  up 
for  the  lion. 

The  kraal  was  a  very  big  one,  being  perhaps  three 
hundred  yards  across.  There  was  an  inside  zariba  in 
which  the  cattle  were  herded,  and  outside  this  was  another 
wall.  Between  these  two  walls  were  the  huts,  separated 
into  little  groups,  each  group  divided  off  from  the  next  by 
a  low  wall  of  branches.  In  these  partitions  were  kept 
the  camels,  donkeys,  sheep,  and  goats  belonging  to  the 
owners  of  the  huts.  At  either  end  of  the  zariba  was  an 
opening,  blocked  at  night,  leading  straight  into  the  inner 
cattle  zariba. 

We  entered  at  the  lower  entrance,  which  was  nearest 
our  camp,  and  passed  up  between  the  two  walls  and  the 
huts.  The  huts  were  made  of  gipsy  poles,  on  which  were 
strung  sheep  and  goat  skins.  As  rain  is  scarce  here,  and 
the  climate  warm,  these  afford  sufficient  protection.  The 
huts  were  circular,  and  quite  different  to  the  long,  many- 
compartmented,  cowdung-plastered  huts  of  the  Masai. 

On  arrival  at  the  top  end  of  the  zariba,  I  found  that  the 
Samburr  had  very  large  ideas  as  to  the  opening  through 
which  I  was  to  fire.    Instead  of  the  nice  little  loophole  I 

5 


66         THE  SAMBURR  COUNTRY 


had  anticipated  in  the  zariba,  I  found  that  a  whole  section 
of  wall  about  six  yards  wide  had  been  removed. 

This  did  not  please  me  a  bit,  as  it  meant  that  I  should 
have  to  lie  practically  in  the  open,  visible  to  an  animal 
like  a  lion,  which  can  see  fairly  well  at  night.  Moreover, 


The  low  partition-walls  by  the  huts  form  enclosures  for  camels,  donkeys,  and 
sheep.  The  branches  by  the  two  main  entrances  are  to  close  them  at 
night.  The  dotted  line  shows  our  route  from  the  camp.  At  the  upper 
end  of  it  is  the  place  where  the  lion  leaped  over. 

seeing  me  in  such  a  position,  a  wary  lion  would  not  advance 
straight  on  the  kraal,  but  would  creep  round  the  edge, 
and  might  suddenly  appear  round  the  corner  on  either  side 
of  me.  Like  anyone  who  has  had  much  to  do  with  lions, 
I  have  a  great  respect  for  them,  especially  at  night,  and 
this  arrangement  did  not  make  me  feel  at  all  comfortable. 


THE  SAMBURR  COUNTRY 


67 


However,  it  was  too  late  to  call  off  now,  so  the  goat  was 
tied  up,  and  I  lay  down  in  the  gap  in  the  fence,  while 
Tengeneza  lay  behind  me,  and  Abdi  remained  inside.  I 
had  brought  the  latter  so  as  to  be  able  to  use  him  as  an 
interpreter. 

The  night  was  very  dark,  and  the  white  goat,  only  a  few 
yards  away,  was  just  discernible  as  a  shadowy  form.  The 
ground  sloped  up  a  little  behind  the  goat,  and  the  top  of 
the  little  rise  showed  against  the  sky-line.  It  was  for  this 
reason  that  I  had  chosen  this  spot. 

A  long  and  tedious  wait  of  several  hours  ensued,  and 
then  suddenly  something  moved  on  the  sky-line.  I  felt 
almost  certain  it  must  be  the  lion,  when  it  moved  again, 
and  from  the  movement  I  saw  that  it  was  a  hyena. 
Tengeneza  nudged  me  from  behind,  so  he  evidently  had 
seen  it,  and  thought  that  it  was  the  lion. 

Directly  it  moved  down  towards  the  zariba  it  was 
invisible,  but  shortly  afterwards  I  suddenly  made  out  its 
form  by  the  goat ;  in  fact,  I  thought  that  it  had  collared 
it.  I  immediately  shouted  out,  and  Tengeneza  moved  up, 
very  much  excited,  digging  the  muzzle  of  my  spare  rifle 
into  my  side,  while  his  fingers  were  playing  about  some- 
where near  the  trigger.  I  moved  the  muzzle  away  from  my 
person,  and  he  said  :  "  What  is  the  matter  ?"  I  said  :  "  It 
is  a  hyena.    Get  a  faggot  from  the  fire,  and  throw  it  out." 

Abdi,  who  had  heard  me  call  out,  got  a  piece  of  burning 
wood,  and  threw  it  out  towards  the  goat,  and  we  saw  that 
it  was  all  right.  The  hyena  had,  of  course,  moved  off  when 
I  called  out.  We  then  waited  again  till  near  midnight, 
when  I  gave  it  up,  as  we  were  starting  early  next  morning. 

If  a  lion  does  not  come  before  ten  or  eleven  o'clock  on 
an  occasion  like  this,  it  is  pretty  certain  that  he  is  not 
coming  at  all. 

5—2 


68         THE  SAMBURR  COUNTRY 


The  Samburr  had  been  talking  very  grandly  about  how 
they  were  going  to  keep  guard  all  night.  They  said  : 
"  There  is  no  sleep  for  anybody  in  the  kraal  to-night ; 
we  will  all  be  awake,  and  watching  for  the  lion."  About 
eight  o'clock  their  talking  had  died  away,  and  only  loud 
snores  were  heard. 

It  now  took  all  our  combined  efforts  to  wake  a  man  up 
to  take  in  the  goat.  At  last  he  roused  himself,  fetched 
the  goat  in,  put  it  in  its  compartment,  and  immediately 
went  to  sleep  again  without  troubling  about  the  aperture 
in  the  zariba. 

We  made  our  way  back  to  the  other  end,  and  were  about 
to  let  ourselves  out  by  pulling  away  the  branches,  when 
it  struck  us  that  we  should  not  be  able  to  close  it  again 
from  the  outside. 

Abdi  went  to  the  nearest  hut,  and  tapped  and  called  out 
for  some  time,  saying  that  we  wanted  someone  to  close  up 
the  zariba.  At  last  a  sleepy  man's  voice  ordered  out  a 
woman,  and  she  crawled  out. 

Every  hut  had  one  or  more  spears  stuck  upright  in  the 
ground  on  the  left-hand  side  of  the  doorway,  and  from 
these  can  be  told  how  many  warriors  are  in  each  hut. 
The  object  of  putting  the  spear  on  the  left-hand  side  is 
that  in  case  of  alarm  the  warrior  can,  as  he  comes  out, 
snatch  it  up  with  his  right  hand.  Masai  warriors  as  they 
enter  a  hut  throw  the  spear  into  the  left  hand,  and  plunge 
the  butt  into  the  ground  with  a  sort  of  military  precision 
and  smartness. 

We  pulled  away  the  branches  at  the  opening  of  the 
zariba,  and  the  woman  who  had  come  out  to  close  it  asked 
us  to  wait  outside  until  she  had  replaced  them  and  got 
back  into  her  hut.  This  we  did,  and  when  we  saw  her 
flying  back  to  her  hut  we  returned  to  camp. 


I 


Samburr  Kraal 

This  was  the  aspect  of  the  Samburr  kraal  from  our  camp.    Its  size  can  be  estimated  from  the 
little  figures  of  the  men  on  the  ant-hill  to  the  left  of  the  leaning  tree. 


SWIYAN 

L — "^The  water-holes  here  are  in  the  trees  to  the  left.  There  was  not  a  blade  of  grass  to  be  found 
anywhere  in  the  vicinity.  Our  donkeys,  seen  in  the  centre  of  the  picture,  had  to  occupy  them- 
selves with  rolling'in  the  sand  of  the  river-bed  instead  of  grazing. 


THE  SAMBURR  COUNTRY 


69 


Next  morning  the  six  donkeys  and  the  two  guides 
turned  up  correctly.  The  guides  wanted  to  know  what  I 
was  going  to  give  them  for  the  journey,  and  after  I  had 
agreed  upon  the  amount  of  calico  and  wire,  which  was  not 
exorbitant,  they  asked  me  to  give  it  to  them  now,  that 
they  might  leave  it  in  their  home.  I  do  not  like  paying 
natives  in  advance,  but  as  they  had  treated  me  so  well 
here  I  complied. 

Then  the  Legwanan  said  :  "  Here  are  the  six  donkeys  I 
promised  to  lend  you.  Take  them  to  Doto,  and  if  you  do 
not  get  other  donkeys  there,  take  them  to  the  Rendile 
country,  and  take  these  guides  also.  When  you  have  done 
with  the  donkeys  these  men  will  bring  them  back,  and  you 
can  give  them  what  you  think  a  fit  reward  for  their  owners. 
If  a  donkey  dies  on  the  way,  we  shall  know  that  it  is  the 
hand  of  God,  for  men  do  not  eat  donkeys." 

Now,  I  always  like  to  try  to  understand  the  native  point 
of  view  and  ways  of  thinking,  and  this  puzzled  me.  The 
two  guides  who  were  going  to  accompany  me  wanted  their 
pay  in  advance,  while  the  owners  of  the  donkeys,  who  were 
not  going  with  me,  were  to  have  theirs  sent  them.  I  could 
not  think  of  any  solution  which  would  explain  this,  and 
so  I  asked  Abdi.  He  said  that  he  did  not  know,  so 
finally  I  had  to  ask  the  Legivanan.  " 1  have  paid  these 
guides  in  advance  :  would  it  not  have  been  more  fitting  if 
I  had  paid  the  owners  of  the  donkeys  in  advance,  and  the 
guides  who  come  with  me  at  the  end  of  the  journey  ?" 

The  Legwanan  laughed,  and  offered  the  explanation. 
If  the  guides  returned  with  their  present  of  brass  wire 
or  calico  in  their  hands,  they  might  be  robbed  in  the 
way  by  anyone  they  met ;  meaning  that  another  Samburr 
might  say,  "  Oh,  you  might  give  me  half  ;  you  can't  want 
it  all,"  and  make  him  go  shares.    Then  the  next  man 


70        THE  SAMBURR  COUNTRY 


they  met  would  do  likewise,  till  by  the  time  they  reached 
home  they  would  have  nothing  left.  If,  however,  they 
were  bearing  presents  for  someone  else,  no  one  would 
touch  them. 

The  Samburr  put  a  withy  through  the  nostrils  of  their 
donkeys  and  catch  them  by  this,  or  hold  them  whilst  they 
are  being  loaded.  While  we  were  loading  a  man  came 
up  and  said  that  he  wanted  to  sell  a  donkey.  We  asked 
how  much,  and  he  named  his  price  in  brass  wire  and 
calico.  It  was  a  very  reasonable  price,  and  so  I  told  Abdi 
to  buy  it. 

The  trade  goods  had  already  been  loaded  up,  but  they 
undid  two  loads,  and  gave  him  what  he  asked  for.  He 
then  said  he  wanted  more,  so,  after  arguing  a  bit,  I  said, 
"  Give  him  ten  rounds  more  of  brass  wire."  The  man  then 
insisted  on  twenty-five  rounds  more,  and  took  his  donkey 
away  again. 

Abdi  said  that  several  of  them  had  been  bargaining 
with  him  like  that,  and  he  did  not  understand  it.  "  They 
start  at  a  lower  price  than  they  want,  and  when  you  agree 
they  raise  it,  and  when  you  agree  again  they  raise  it 
again.    How  can  you  do  business  with  people  like  that !" 

At  last  we  got  all  our  loads  on  to  our  donkeys,  and  after 
making  final  presents  to  the  Legwanan,  who  had  treated 
us  so  well,  and  his  delightful  old  men,  we  made  our 
adieux. 

I  shook  hands  with  the  Legwanan,  and  he  said  :  "  Seridn, 
Serian,  good-bye,  and  may  God  preserve  you  and  give 
you  a  safe  journey !" 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  BARTA  STEPPE 

Under  the  Lorogai  Mountains,  at  the  head  of  the  valley 
in  which  we  camped,  was  a  spring,  and  to  this  we  had 
sent  daily  for  water.  Once  the  mountains  were  left, 
however,  water  was  only  to  be  had  in  wells  dug  in  the  dry 
river-beds  until  we  should  arrive  at  the  General  Matthews 
Range,  under  which  there  were  said  to  be  springs. 

The  country  between  these  two  ranges  is  an  arid 
desert  of  stony  ground,  dotted  with  thorn-bushes  and 
aloes,  with  occasional  rocky  ravines.  The  thorn-bush  of 
this  country  is  a  leafless,  low-spreading  bush  with  cruelly 
hooked  thorns.  These  thorns  tore  the  donkeys'  saddle- 
bags and  our  clothes  and  flesh.  So  bad  are  they  that  the 
thick-skinned  giraffe  give  them  a  wide  birth.  I  had 
occasion  to  notice  this  once  when,  in  a  thick  patch  of  bush, 
a  giraffe  pushed  into  and  broke  the  branches  of  an  acacia 
to  avoid  brushing  against  the  ends  of  the  branches  of 
one  of  these  thorn-bushes  next  to  it. 

At  night  these  thorns  were  especially  bad,  as  one  could 
not  see  how  far  their  low  branches  stretched,  and  so  would 
run  against  them.  Sometimes  they  grew  singly  and 
sometimes  in  patches  impossible  to  push  through.  It 
was  not  until  we  reached  the  mountains  of  Abyssinia  that 
we  finally  lost  sight  of  these  diabolical  thorns. 

Grass  grew  in  patches  here  and  there,  and  the  grazing 

71 


72 


THE  BART  A  STEPPE 


was  fairly  good  in  places,  especially  close  to  the  moun- 
tains and  in  the  valleys.  The  rest  of  the  vegetation  was 
that  of  the  rocky,  waterless  type  of  country — stunted 
trees  on  the  sides  of  the  ravines,  aloes,  and  cacti. 

The  animals  also  differed  from  those  of  the  country 
we  had  left,  for  here  were  found  only  such  animals  as 
required  little  water — giraffe,  oryx,  the  northern  form  of 
Grant's  gazelle,  and  Grevy's  zebra. 

On  the  Laikipia  plains,  also  a  poorly-watered  district, 
we  had  indeed  seen  a  few  oryx  and  this  form  of  Grant's 
gazelle,  but  there  had  been  eland,  Thomson's  gazelle, 
Chapman's  zebra,  and  hartebeest. 

About  sixteen  miles  through  such  country  northwards 
brought  us  to  a  dry,  sandy  watercourse,  in  which  were 
dug  a  few  wells.  This  was  Barasoloi.  There  were 
Samburr  near  here,  and  sheep  were  being  watered  at  the 
wells.  The  water  was  passed  up  in  wooden  vessels  by 
hand  and  poured  into  troughs  made  of  mud  and  stone. 

We  followed  down  the  watercourse  for  a  mile  or  so,  and 
there  camped  near  some  wells.  The  grazing  here  was 
poor  for  the  donkeys,  used  to  the  luxuriant  grass  of  the 
upland  prairies.  However,  they  seemed  to  have  stood 
the  long  march  very  well.  Abdi  proved  himself  splendid 
as  donkey  headman,  being  one  of  the  few  natives  I  have 
met  who  have  been  really  kind  to  animals. 

These  donkeys,  used  by  the  tribes  of  these  parts  for 
baggage,  are  the  quietest  and  most  tractable  animals 
imaginable.  If  their  load  slips  down,  they  just  wait  for 
it  to  be  put  right  again,  or  start  grazing,  but  do  not  career 
about  and  kick  it  off  as  do  mules.  The  loading  of  the 
donkeys  in  the  morning  was  always  a  lengthy  business, 
and  the  porters  used  to  handle  them  rather  roughly.  If  a 
donkey  would  not  immediately  come  to  where  his  loads 

i 


THE  BARTA  STEPPE 


73 


were  waiting  for  him,  they  used  to  haul  at  his  ears  and 
push  and  shove,  which  of  course  made  him  more  ob- 
stinate. 

Abdi  used  often  to  say,  "  You  men  do  not  understand 
donkeys  ;  you  behave  as  fools  towards  them.  Leave  him 
alone."  Then  he  used  to  go  quietly  up  to  the  animal, 
pat  him  on  the  neck,  and,  taking  him  by  the  nose,  lead 
him  gently  up. 

New  donkeys  were  sometimes  rather  difficult  to  load 
before  they  had  got  used  to  the  porters,  and  the  men 
would  increase  their  natural  alarm  by  rushing  two  or 
three  at  a  time  for  one  donkey,  perhaps  waving  a  saddle- 
bag in  its  face  and  shouting  loudly.  One  of  the 
donkey-men  called  Tumbo  (Stomach),  a  rather  portly 
person,  was  quieter  than  the  others  and  fairly  trust- 
worthy, and  so  I  made  him  second-in-command  of  the 
transport,  while  I  made  a  porter  called  Kitabu  (Book) 
second-in-command  of  the  porters.  Both  these  men  did 
exceedingly  well. 

One  of  the  great  secrets  of  trekking  with  donkeys  is  to 
have  the  loads  on  either  side  of  an  animal  equally  balanced. 
Sometimes  only  the  matter  of  a  few  ounces  on  one  side 
or  the  other  will  make  the  loads  ride  badly,  and  hence 
give  the  animal  a  sore  back,  besides  giving  the  men  the 
constant  trouble  of  readjusting  them. 

As  trade  goods  were  given  out  constantly  from  one 
package  or  another,  it  was  impossible  to  keep  them  abso- 
lutely balanced,  and  so  we  used  sometimes  to  pick  up  a 
stone  and  put  it  on  one  side  or  the  other  to  restore  the 
balance.  Over  this  sometimes  the  men  used  to  display 
real  African  intelligence,  for  they  might  pick  up  a  large 
boulder  and  put  it  in  the  saddle-bag  on  one  side,  and 
when  that  proved  too  heavy  they  would  put  another 


74 


THE  BARTA  STEPPE 


stone  on  the  other  side.  These  might  be  added  to  from 
time  to  time,  till  the  donkey  might  be  found  carrying  the 
superfluous  load  of  half  a  dozen  stones  on  either  side 
besides  its  proper  load. 

On  the  morning  after  camping  at  Barasoloi,  as  I  had 
not  yet  finished  my  observations,  I  sent  the  men  and 
donkeys  on  ahead  to  Swiyan,  following  later  with  one  of 
the  guides.  As  we  approached  this  place  the  country 
became  most  desolate,  being  merely  a  succession  of  stony 
hills  and  ravines  without  any  vegetation. 

I  arrived  at  Swiyan,  a  water-hole  in  a  river-bed,  after 
midday,  and  found  the  men  and  donkeys  here.  The 
surrounding  country  was  nothing  but  rock,  and  there  was 
not  a  blade  of  grass  anywhere  in  the  vicinity  for  the 
donkeys  to  eat.  Our  guides  told  us  that  the  first  day  to 
Barasoloi  was  the  longest  we  should  do,  and  that  from 
there  only  two  short  marches  remained  to  Lesirikan,  the 
place  under  General  Matthews  Range  to  which  we  were 
going.  The  country  between  Swiyan  and  Lesirikan  was 
absolutely  uninhabited,  being  nothing  but  a  rocky- 
descent  intersected  by  ravines. 

We  left  Swiyan  almost  immediately  after  I  arrived,  so 
as  to  push  on  and  sleep  at  some  place  where  the  donkeys 
might  get  a  little  food.  After  going  for  about  five  miles 
we  met  with  some  grass,  and  the  guides  wanted  to  halt 
here,  saying  that  we  could  reach  Lesirikan  next  morning 
after  a  short  march. 

Very  fortunately  I  insisted  on  going  farther,  as  I  sus- 
pected, from  the  position  of  the  range  ahead,  that  the 
next  day's  march  would  not  be  as  short  as  they  said.  We 
went  on  till  dark,  and  camped  in  a  ravine.  I  was  only 
able  to  fill  two  tanks  at  Swiyan,  as  there  were  not  enough 
men  and  animals  without  loads  to  carry  all  of  them  full. 


THE  BARTA  STEPPE 


75 


Of  these  two  tanks  I  kept  one  as  a  reserve,  as  I  had  lost 
faith  in  the  guides. 

During  the  night  one  of  the  men  stole  the  water  out  of 
one  of  the  guides'  gourds,  and  the  day  before  someone 
had  helped  himself  out  of  my  water-bottle.  It  was  on 
both  occasions  impossible  to  tell  who  had  done  it,  but  in 
view  of  the  waterless  country  we  were  about  to  tackle, 
I  resolved  to  watch  carefully,  and  to  punish  severely  the 
next  offence  of  a  similar  nature. 

The  first  part  of  the  next  day's  march  was  up  and 
down  rocky  ridges  very  trying  to  the  donkeys.  The 
guides  seemed  rather  at  sea,  and  changed  directions 
several  times,  and  whenever  I  asked  where  Lesirikan  was, 
they  pointed  to  a  different  part  of  the  range  ahead.  I 
then  asked  when  they  had  last  been  to  Lesirikan,  and  one 
of  them  said  he  had  never  been  there,  and  the  other,  a 
very  old  man,  said  that  he  had  been  there  when  he  was 
a  warrior — viz.,  a  young  man. 

This  is  a  peculiarity  of  African  guides.  It  is  never 
necessary  that  they  should  know  the  way,  and  I  have 
often  had  guides  specially  selected  for  me  by  a  friendly 
chief  who  have  never  been  to  the  place  they  are  supposed 
to  lead  me  to.  When  one  reproaches  them  for  taking 
one  miles  out  of  the  way,  they  are  generally  quite  indig- 
nant at  the  injustice  of  the  rebuke,  and  say  :  "  How  could 
we  do  any  better  ?  We  have  never  been  there  before." 
If  one  asks  why  they  came,  they  say,  "  Oh,  we  were  told 
to,"  or,  "  We  were  frightened  of  you,"  or  something 
equally  intelligent. 

On  this  occasion  we  had  a  very  long  and  trying  day, 
till  at  last,  at  about  four  o'clock,  I  found  myself  still  five 
or  six  miles  from  the  range,  and  the  donkeys  a  long  way 
behind,  but  between  me  and  the  mountain  was  a  short 


76 


THE  BARTA  STEPPE 


grass  prairie.  When  we  reached  the  hill  it  was  not  certain 
that  we  should  hit  on  water,  as  there  might  be  water  in 
some  valleys  and  not  in  others.  I  could  not  see  any  signs 
of  kraals  under  the  mountain,  so  there  was  nothing  to 
steer  for  except  a  likely-looking  valley. 

I  resolved  for  the  present  to  leave  the  donkeys  and 
press  on  with  the  men  with  me,  and  try  to  reach  the 
mountains  to  locate  water  before  dark,  and  then  we  could 
make  a  fire  to  guide  those  behind. 

While  crossing  this  prairie  I  saw  something  on  the 
ground  two  or  three  hundred  yards  to  my  left.  I  thought 
that  it  might  be  a  small  buck  lying  down,  but  brought 
out  my  glasses  to  make  certain.  There  did  not  appear 
cover  enough  to  conceal  a  hare,  but  as  I  watched  the  figure 
got  up,  and  proved  to  be  a  lion,  while  five  others  sprang 
up  from  the  same  spot,  one  a  fine  black-maned  lion. 
They  turned,  and  started  trotting  away  over  the  plain, 
having  seen  us. 

They  were  too  far  off  to  risk  a  shot,  so  the  only  thing  to 
do  was  to  race  after  them  in  the  hopes  that  they  would 
stand  and  wheel  round.  After  running  the  best  part  of 
a  mile  without  gaming  on  them  I  was  done,  but  couldn't 
resist  even  then  taking  a  long  pot-shot  at  the  black-maned 
one.  In  my  pumped  condition  I  of  course  missed  him, 
and  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  return  to  the  porters. 

As  we  reached  the  hill  and  came  to  a  valley,  we  saw  a 
rocky  shelf  at  its  base,  and  along  this,  to  our  joy,  a  herd  of 
cattle  was  being  driven.  After  ascending  the  rocky  wall, 
we  arrived  on  this  shelf,  and  saw  a  couple  of  kraals. 

As  it  was  now  after  sunset,  we  paid  no  attention  to 
them,  but  cut  into  the  cattle-track,  and  followed  this  up 
the  valley  to  water.  Telling  the  rest  to  light  a  big  fire 
there,  I  took  two  or  three  men,  and  returned  to  look  for 


THE  BARTA  STEPPE 


77 


the  donkeys.  After  five  miles  back  across  the  plain  we 
heard  the  voices  of  the  donkey-men  urging  them  on,  and 
we  presently  located  them  in  the  dark.  I  gave  out  the 
water  of  the  reserve  tank  to  the  men,  who  had  not  had 
water  all  day. 

We  got  into  camp  just  before  midnight,  and  very  glad 
were  both  men  and  donkeys  to  reach  the  end  of  the  day's 
journey. 

Next  morning  the  local  natives  turned  up  with  presents 
of  milk  and  sheep.  The  milk  brought  in  was  divided  up 
amongst  the  men.  Soon  afterwards  Omari  complained 
that  while  he  was  about  his  duties  his  portion  had  been 
stolen.  Of  course,  the  offender  could  not  be  found,  but 
the  gourd  of  milk  had  been  left  under  a  tree  where  four 
men  were  sitting,  and  either  they  must  have  taken  it,  or 
known  who  had  done  so. 

I  noticed  that  Omari  had  little  hold  over  the  men,  and 
wanted  to  establish  his  authority.  Moreover,  I  intended 
to  stop  these  petty  thefts.  I  therefore  had  all  the  men  up, 
and  explained  the  case  to  them,  and  said  :  "  You  may 
think  that  the  theft  of  milk  or  water  is  a  small  matter, 
but  it  is  not  so.  The  taking  of  a  man's  water  in  a  water- 
less country  may  be  the  taking  of  his  life  "  (making  a  play 
on  a  Swahili  word  meaning  "  life,"  and  also  the  condition 
of  extreme  thirst).  "  These  men  here,  if  they  did  not  take 
this  milk,  know  who  took  it.  They  must  tell  me,  or  all 
of  them  will  be  beaten." 

I  gave  them  a  few  minutes  to  make  up  their  minds, 
and  at  the  end  of  that  time  asked  them  again  who  had 
taken  the  milk.  They  said  that  they  did  not  know,  so  I 
had  them  all  put  down  and  beaten. 

This  may  sound  cruel  and  unjust,  but  I  dared  not  face 
the  waterless  country  in  front  with  men  who  thought  that 


78 


THE  BARTA  STEPPE 


thefts  of  water  or  liquid  would  be  overlooked.  Under  the 
provocation  of  extreme  thirst  men  might  bore  holes  in  the 
water-tanks  or  barrels,  and  so  endanger  the  lives  of  all,  if 
discipline  amongst  them  was  not  perfect. 

The  sheep  of  this  country  are  of  the  fat-tailed  variety, 
a  circumstance  which  enables  them  to  withstand  short 
periods  of  drought  and  poor  grazing,  for  the  fat  in  the 
tail  acts  as  a  sort  of  reservoir,  from  which  nutriment  for  the 
body  may  be  drawn.  One  of  the  sheep  they  brought  me 
was  so  enormously  fat,  and  had  such  a  huge  tail,  that  he 
was  hardly  able  to  move,  and  certainly  could  not  have 
marched  with  us. 

The  people  at  Lesirikan  told  me  that  they  were  formerly 
Torobo  hunters,  which  statement  I  should  like  to  have 
inquired  into.  Now  they  went  in  for  breeding  stock,  and 
had  become  Samburr.  They  said  that  they  had  no 
donkeys  to  dispose  of. 

These  Ogieg  are  a  very  widely  though  thinly  distributed 
tribe,  and  although  they  call  themselves  by  one  name, 
Ogieg,  and  say  that  they  are  of  one  tribe,  they  differ  much 
in  customs  and  appearance,  and  somewhat  in  language, 
in  each  locality.  For  instance,  the  Ogieg  on  the  Kikuyu 
escarpment  have  many  differences  in  vocabulary  from 
those  on  the  Mau  escarpment.  Those  we  had  met  with 
on  the  Laikipia  plains  had  a  different  appearance,  but  I 
had  no  opportunity  of  comparing  their  dialect  with  that 
of  the  former. 

These  at  Lesirikan  appeared  slightly  different  again, 
and  spoke  the  same  language  as  the  Samburr.  Probably 
some  of  them  were  originally  Ogieg,  and  these  had  mixed 
with  Samburr. 

I  heard  that  a  day's  march  to  the  west  there  were  both 
Turkana  and  Samburr.  at  a  place  called  Baragoi,  and  two 


THE  BARTA  STEPPE 


79 


days  northwards  the  Rendile  country  commenced.  The 
Turkana  and  Samburr  at  Baragoi,  it  appeared,  had  fallen 
out  over  grazing  grounds,  and  war  between  them  was 
imminent. 

I  should  like  to  have  stopped  here  and  tried  for  lion,  as 
they  told  me  that  there  were  plenty,  but  I  could  not  afford 
the  time,  so,  after  remaining  that  day  to  graze  the  donkeys 
and  talk  to  the  Samburr,  we  trekked  to  Baragoi. 

Baragoi  was  a  little  elangata — i.e.,  dry  river-bed  in  the 
plains  which  led  to  nothing,  and  emptied  itself  into 
nothing.  Two  watercourses  flowing  from  opposite  direc- 
tions meet  in  a  little  dip,  and  in  pools  here  enough  water 
collects  to  last  through  the  dry  season.  One  large  tree 
marks  the  spot. 

On  the  plains  west  of  this  watercourse  were  situated  the 
Turkana  kraals,  while  the  Samburr  lived  to  the  east,  and 
both  watered  their  flocks  at  the  same  holes.  As  I  passed 
the  Samburr  kraals  on  my  way  to  Baragoi  some  old  men 
turned  out,  and  escorted  me  down  to  the  water,  where  I 
pitched  camp.  They  poured  out  their  troubles  to  me. 
It  appeared  from  their  accounts  that  the  Turkana  wished 
to  oust  them  from  their  grazing  ground,  and  from  the 
well-grassed  plains  of  Em  Barta,  threatening  to  fight  them 
if  they  did  not  go.  They  said  that  they  were  not  strong 
enough  to  fight  with  the  Turkana,  and  they  could  not 
move,  for  they  had  nowhere  else  to  go. 

They  naively  told  me  that  a  few  days  back  the  Turkana 
had  delivered  an  ultimatum,  and  were  going  to  fight  them, 
but  that  the  news  had  come  that  I  was  on  the  way  up. 
So  they  said  to  the  Turkana  :  "  You  cannot  fight  with  us, 
as  we  belong  to  the  white  men,  and  the  white  men  will  be 
very  angry  with  you  if  you  fight  us,  and  our  own  white 
man  is  even  now  on  the  way  up  to  help  us." 


80 


THE  BARTA  STEPPE 


Later  in  the  evening  the  Turkana  chief,  an  intelligent- 
looking  little  man,  called  Longellich,  came  in  with  some 
warriors.  They  were  fine-looking  fellows,  but  not  so  big 
as  former  accounts  of  the  Turkana  would  have  led  one 
to  imagine.  One  could  hardly  call  them  "  a  race  of 
giants."  I  only  saw  one  tall,  thin  youth  who  was  my 
own  height ;  but  the  wonderful  head-dresses,  and  the 
contrast  between  them  and  the  usual  small  native  of 
five  foot  six  or  so,  makes  them  look  perhaps  taller  than 
they  really  are. 

The  head-dresses  are  most  curious  and  varied,  consisting 
of  the  hair  of  their  dead  ancestors  matted  together  with 
red  earth,  and  plaited  on  to  their  own  hair.  The  most 
popular  style  is  that  of  the  old-fashioned  chignon,  only 
rather  exaggerated,  as  it  sometimes  reaches  down  the  back 
almost  to  the  waist.  In.  this  are  poked  a  few  ostrich- 
feathers,  while  at  the  end  is  often  a  long  bit  of  wire,  which 
curls  backwards  and  upwards  over  the  head.  Some  of 
these  can  be  seen  in  the  photograph. 

The  Turkana  said  that  they  had  some  donkeys,  and 
would  consider  the  question  of  selling  to  me.  In  the 
evening  I  secured  some  meat  for  the  men. 

The  Baragoi  plains  resemble  those  of  Laikipia,  and  are 
quite  unlike  the  barren  country  through  which  we  had 
passed.  Grazing  is  good  and  game  plentiful,  consisting  of 
lion,  rhino,  buffalo,  oryx,  eland,  giraffe,  and  ostrich. 
The  natives  said  that  a  lion  had  just  killed  an  ostrich  there, 
and  after  that  two  sheep.  This  is  the  only  time  I  have 
heard  of  an  ostrich  being  killed  by  a  lion. 

The  Samburr  brought  in  some  sheep  as  a  present,  while 
the  Turkana  brought  a  bull.  As  the  latter  ran  back  to 
the  kraal  every  time  his  attendant  went  away,  I  had 
finally  to  return  it  to  them. 


THE  BARTA  STEPPE  81 


Next  day  they  brought  in  three  donkeys,  which  I  bought 
for  iron  wire,  calico,  tobacco,  and  beads.  This  enabled 
me  to  send  my  Samburr  donkeys  back,  so,  giving  the 
guides  presents  for  the  donkeys'  owners,  and  messages  for 
the  Legwanan,  I  sent  them  off. 

I  was  then  asked  to  settle  the  dispute  between  the 
Turkana  and  the  Samburr.  The  chief,  Legarbes,  of  the 
Samburr,  with  his  old  men,  sat  on  one  side,  and  LongeUich 
and  his  old  men  on  the  other,  while  Abdi  interpreted,  and 
I  sat  at  the  door  of  my  tent.  I  said  :  "  You  have  asked 
me  to  settle  this  dispute  of  yours,  and  if  you  wish  I  will 
do  so,  but  first  I  must  tell  you  that  I  am  only  a  traveller 
who  has  come  to  see  your  country  ;  I  am  not  the  man  at 
Nairobi  (the  Governor),  or  even  the  man  at  Laikipia  (the 
nearest  District  Commissioner).  If  you  want  my  judg- 
ment as  a  white  man  who  favours  neither  the  Turkana  on 
the  one  side,  nor  the  Samburr  on  the  other,  then  I  will 
give  it  you." 

"  Now  I  have  come  to  this  country,  and  wish  to  be 
friends  with  you  both,  and  my  judgment  will  be  clearer 
than  yours,  for  you  are  just  as  children  or  animals  to  me. 
To  me  it  is  just  as  it  might  be  to  you  to  settle  the  dispute 
between  one  and  another  sheep  of  your  flocks.  However, 
before  I  trouble  myself  with  your  affairs,  you  must  promise 
to  abide  by  my  decision,  or  my  work  will  be  in  vain." 

To  this  they  agreed. 

Then  I  listened  patiently  to  long  dissertations  on 
grazing  grounds,  ancient  rights,  etc.,  first  from  one  side 
and  then  from  the  other.  After  each  side  had  exhausted 
itself  I  sat  awhile  in  silence  to  impress  them,  and  also  wrote 
a  little  in  my  pocket-book.  Then  I  gave  judgment,  and 
said  :  "  Listen  to  my  words.  War  is  a  bad  thing,  and  there 
is  no  need  for  war  over  this  matter.    There  is  much  grass 

6 


82 


THE  BARTA  STEPPE 


in  this  place,  and  the  water  suffices  for  both.  God  gives 
grass  that  the  cattle  of  man  may  feed  and  grow  fat,  and 
no  man  may  say,  'This  is  my  grass,  and  not  yours.' 

"  Yet  if  two  peoples  live  in  one  place,  there  will  always 
be  war  and  strife.  Now,  if  there  is  strife  here,  the  white 
men  will  not  recognize  that  one  party  is  the  aggressor  ; 
they  will  look  on  you  as  both  bad.  If  you  see  two  dogs 
fighting,  do  you  say,  '  This  one  is  right,  and  that  wrong  V 
No  ;  you  beat  them  both,  and  they  leave  off  fighting.  If 
there  is  strife  here,  then  may  the  white  men  come  and  say, 
1  These  are  bad  people  ;  let  us  beat  them  both.'  So  desist 
from  strife  between  yourselves. 

"  Now,  if  one  man  has  two  wives  in  the  same  house  there 
is  always  dissension  in  that  house,  so  if  two  tribes  have 
cattle  on  one  grazing  ground,  and  kraals  in  one  place,  so 
will  there  always  be  dissension  in  that  place.  It  may 
arise  over  a  big  matter,  or  it  may  be  over  a  small.  It 
may  be  that  two  children  quarrel  over  a  small  thing,  and 
war  is  brought  about  between  two  tribes.  Therefore  I 
say  to  you,  0  Turkana,  you  must  not  cross  this  stream 
and  build  your  kraals  on  the  same  side  as  the  Samburr, 
and  I  charge  you,  O  Samburr,  that  you  do  not  move  your 
kraals  likewise  to  the  west  side  of  the  stream. 

"  Now,  this  is  my  decision  :  You,  the  Samburr,  graze 
your  cattle  on  the  east  side  of  Baragoi,  and  when  you 
come  to  water,  approach  from  the  east,  and  water  your 
cattle  from  that  side,  and  do  not  let  even  one  lamb  cross 
over  to  drink  from  the  other  side.  You,  the  Turkana,  graze 
your  cattle  on  the  west  side,  and  likewise  water  from  that 
side,  and  not  one  man  or  animal  must  cross  to  this  side. 

"  Now  as  to  grazing  grounds,  take  this  stream  as  your 
boundary,  and  after  the  stream  take  this  big  tree  of 
Baragoi  and  the  rocky  peak  of  01  doinyo  Ngiro  you  all 


THE  BART  A  STEPPE 


83 


see  before  you,  and  let  this  line  be  a  boundary  to  you  that 
neither  tribe  may  cross  to  the  other  side. 

"  And  during  the  time  of  the  rains,  when  you  move 
back  from  Baragoi,  let  the  chief  of  the  Turkana  bid  good- 
bye to  the  chief  of  the  Samburr,  and  when  you  return 
again  after  the  rains  you  must  greet  each  other  again, 
and  renew  the  friendship  and  agreement  you  will  make 
this  day.  What  say  you  to  my  words — are  they  good  or 
bad  ?" 

The  two  chiefs  both  agreed  that  they  were  good,  and 
shook  hands,  and  swore  eternal  friendship  in  my  presence. 

Having  settled  this  dispute,  the  rival  chiefs  both  said 
that  they  had  heard  about  the  Abyssinians,  and  feared 
aggression  on  their  part.  What  were  they  to  do  ?  1 
replied  that  the  Abyssinians  were  old  friends  of  the 
English,  and  that  we  should  be  seriously  annoyed  if  they 
embroiled  themselves  with  these  people.  However,  there 
was  no  fear  of  this,  as  we  were  about  to  open  a  station 
at  Marsabit,  and  so  any  complaints  they  had  to  make 
against  the  Abyssinians  they  could  take  there,  and  they 
would  be  settled. 

I  then  said  good-bye  to  the  Turkana  and  Samburr,  and 
made  for  the  east  side  of  01  doinyo  Ngiro,  which  rose  up  to 
our  front  as  a  great,  square,  flat-topped  mountain,  about 
ten  thousand  feet  high. 

I  was  in  front  of  the  caravan  as  usual  with  Tengeneza, 
while  my  two  boys  were  close  behind,  when  we  met  an 
old  rhino  strolling  towards  us.  We  had  seen  a  good  few 
that  day.  I  beckoned  to  the  men  with  me  to  stop,  and 
I  went  on  alone  towards  him  till  I  got  within  a  hundred 
yards.  As  he  was  still  advancing,  I  awaited  him  here 
with  my  camera.  When  he  got  to  within  fifty  yards,  I 
took  the  portrait  here  reproduced. 

6—2 


84  THE  BARTA  STEPPE 


My  men  behind  me,  astonished  that  I  did  not  shoot, 
and  seeing  the  rhino  still  advancing,  could  not  contain 
their  excitement,  and  let  loose  a  few  stage-whispers. 
The  rhino  heard,  cocked  up  his  ears,  and  made  off  to  one 
side.  He  then  passed  about  a  mile  off  the  tail-end  of 
the  caravan,  who  were  straggling  in  the  rear. 

When  they  got  into  camp  that  day  they  were  full  of 
the  rhino,  and  tried  to  make  out  that  it  had  nearly  charged 
them,  and  passed  quite  close.  Tengeneza  received  these 
remarks  with  a  certain  amount  of  scepticism,  till  at  last 
they  said  :  "  Of  course,  you  people  in  front  did  not  see 
him."  "  See  him  ?"  said  Tengeneza.  "  Why,  we  took 
his  picture,  and  are  sending  it  to  Europe." 

Two  days'  march  brought  us  to  a  small  brackish  solcota 
called  Naisichu,  under  a  spur  of  01  doinyo  Kgiro  called 
El-lebusi. 

We  camped  here  in  a  sandy  hollow,  which  we  reached 
after  a  long  stony  descent.  Near  this  place  were  some 
Samburr  kraals,  the  last  we  were  to  see. 

Before  we  bid  good-bye  to  these  people  and  the  Turkana 
I  must  say  a  few  words  about  their  customs.  Amongst 
the  Samburr  their  dead  are  sometimes  buried,  sometimes 
not,  but  laid  out  in  the  bush  for  hyenas  to  eat,  as  is  the 
custom  among  the  Masai.  Big  chiefs  are  always  buried. 
The  Turkana  and  Bendile  bury  their  dead,  and  probably 
it  is  intercourse  with  these  people  which  makes  the 
Samburr  occasionally  follow  this  custom. 

The  Samburr  are  usually  referred  to  as  "  Samburu  "  by 
those  who  do  not  know  them,  this  word  being  a  Swahili 
corruption  of  their  name,  which  is  unpronounceable  to  the 
Bantu. 

A  certain  number  of  Samburr  have  intermarried  with 
the  Rendile,  and  these  can  immediately  be  recognized 


THE  BARTA  STEPPE  85 


from  the  fact  that  they  have  two  front  teeth,  the  two 
lower  incisors,  knocked  out.  This  custom  they  hold  in 
common  with  the  Masai,  but  it  is  not  practised  by  the 
Rendile. 

The  wooden  cattle-bells  of  the  Samburr  are  identical 
with  the  camel-bells  of  the  Rendile  and  Somali,  whereas 
the  Masai  generally  have  metal  bells. 

They  are  circumcised  in  the  Masai  manner,  whereas  the 
Turkana  do  not  practise  this  rite,  and  the  Rendile  follow 
the  Muhammadan  custom  in  this  matter. 

The  payment  for  a  bride  is  three  cows  paid  to  the 
father.  The  Rendile  payment  is  three  female  camels 
which  have  not  yet  given  birth,  one  young  female  camel, 
and  two  eating  camels,  making  six  in  all.  Of  these  the 
latter  two  are  the  perquisites  of  the  family,  while  the 
father  has  the  remainder.  On  marriage  the  father  sends 
two  baggage-camels  with  his  daughter  to  take  her  belong- 
ings to  the  husband's  kraal.  Later  he  visits  them,  and 
gives  them  two  milk-camels,  and  takes  back  the  two 
baggage-camels. 

The  Borana  said  that  with  them  only  two  camels,  one 
male  and  one  female,  are  given  for  a  girl.  The  Somalis 
sometimes  give  an  enormous  number  of  camels,  as  many 
as  sixty  or  eighty. 

The  Samburr  and  many  other  natives  I  met  struck  me 
as  being  extraordinarily  unobservant  over  matters  strange 
to  them.  It  often  happened  that  they  would  come  in  to 
talk  to  me  at  night,  and  sit  in  the  light  of  my  lamp  for 
perhaps  half  an  hour  or  more  without  noticing  it.  Then 
suddenly  one  of  them  would  see  it,  and  point  it  out  to  the 
others,  and  they  would  exhibit  great  astonishment,  and 
want  to  touch  it.  They  used  to  ask  whether  it  was  really 
fire  they  saw  inside  it. 


/ 


86 


THE  BARTA  STEPPE 


The  Turkana,  and  many  of  the  tribes  to  the  north 
subsequently  met  with,  carried  about  little  wooden  semi- 
circular stools  or  pillows.  These  would  be  used  during 
the  daytime  as  a  very  inadequate  seat,  and  at  night  to 
keep  their  wonderful  chignons  off  the  ground. 

They  are  credited  with  being  a  very  treacherous  people, 
and  both  Abdi  and  Omari  used  to  rebuke  me  severely  for 
letting  them  troop  into  my  camp  with  their  spears.  They 
said  that  it  was  customary  to  make  the  Turkana  leave 
their  spears  at  a  distance,  and  come  in  unarmed  to  a 
strange  camp.  I  replied  :  "  That  would  indeed  be  a  silly 
thing  to  make  them  do,  as  they  would  at  once  think  that 
we  are  afraid  of  them,  which  is  not  the  case,  is  it  ?" 
Abdi  and  Omari  answered  :  "  Oh,  they  are  a  very  bad 
people." 

They  certainly  must  be  very  fine  warriors,  as  this  senti- 
ment was  reiterated  by  every  tribe  we  passed  through. 
The  Reshiat  said  :  "  The  war  of  the  Turkana  is  a  very  bad 
war,  for  they  follow  a  defeated  people  for  days.  When 
you  go  to  look  for  them  they  are  not  there,  and  then  they 
suddenly  appear.  They  also  fight  at  night ;  oh,  their  war 
is  very  bad."  All  the  tribes  seemed  to  think  that  this 
making  of  war  at  night  was  a  very  low-down  game. 

I  was  sorry  that  I  was  not  able  to  see  more  of  these 
people,  as  I  took  a  great  liking  to  them,  and  think  that 
in  the  future  some  very  fine  material  for  troops  may  be 
forthcoming  from  amongst  their  numbers. 

A  curious  weapon  worn  by  them  is  a  circular  knife 
strapped  round  the  wrist,  and  protected  by  a  leather 
sheath.  I  asked  to  be  shown  how  it  was  used,  and  I  was 
again  rebuked  by  Abdi,  as  he  said  that  it  was  used  only 
in  treachery  on  a  man  standing  talking  to  them,  as  I  had 
been  doing.    Certainly  the  exposition  of  its  use  given  me 


Turkana  Warriors 


The  "  chignon  "  ot  the  third  man  from  the  front  can  be  well  seen,  with  an  ostrich  feather  stuck 
in  it.  The  Turkana  men,  like  the  Masai  and  Samburr,  if  they  wear  anything  at  all,  wear  a  patch 
of  skin  suspended  from  the  shoulders. 


Camp  at  Naisichu 

On  the  right  is  my  tent.    In  the  foreground  is  the  dusty  track  followed  by  herds  coming  in  to 
water,  who  announce  their  approach  by  raising  clouds  of  dust. 


THE  BARTA  STEPPE 


87 


did  not  impress  me  with  much  idea  of  its  value  as  a 
legitimate  weapon  of  war,  for  the  only  possible  method 
of  using  it  is  by  giving  a  very  cumbrous  back-hander. 

The  shield  is  a  small  shield  like  that  of  the  Samburr. 
It  is  made  of  ox  or  buffalo  hide,  the  latter  being  preferred. 
The  ears  are  not  distorted  and  stretched  as  with  the 
Masai ;  they  are  only  pierced  to  receive  a  small  brass  ring 
or  pendant. 

To  return  to  our  camp,  01  doinyo  Ngiro,  a  magnificent 
mountain,  about  ten  thousand  feet  high,  steep-sided  and 
flat-topped,  towered  above  us.  There  is  said  to  be  a 
settlement  of  Samburr  on  or  near  the  top.  The  climate 
there  must  be  excellent,  for  it  must  be  cool,  but  not  damp, 
as  there  is  little  or  no  rain  in  this  country.  Teleki  passed 
the  western  side  of  this  mountain  on  his  journey  to 
Rudolf. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY 

I  arrived  at  Naisichu  late  in  the  day,  as  I  had  stopped 
on  the  way  to  do  some  mapping.  I  found  camp  already 
pitched  near  the  sokota,  and  everything  buried  in  clouds 
of  dust.  Abdi  said  that  some  of  the  Rendile  had  been  in 
to  water  their  sheep  here  ;  they  waited  some  time  to  see 
me,  but  had  now  returned  home. 

The  heat  during  the  day  had  been  great,  especially 
when  taking  observations  from  the  top  of  a  rock.  The 
daily  east  wind  was  more  scorching  here  than  we  had 
hitherto  experienced,  as  it  blew  off  the  sun-baked  rocks, 
and  the  clouds  of  dust  added  to  one's  discomfort. 
The  water  from  the  sokota  was  brackish  and  most  un- 
palatable. 

Very  glad  were  we  to  see  the  sun  set,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  sirocco-like  wind  ceased,  as  was  always  the  case. 
The  night  seemed  so  peaceful  and  cool  after  the  tearing 
wind,  dust,  and  heat  of  the  day  that  it  was  a  pleasure  to 
sit  out  under  the  stars,  and  think  over  the  events  of  the 
trek,  and  the  possibilities  of  the  future. 

I  had  been  hard  at  work  all  day  ;  the  night  before  we 
had  had  an  uncomfortable  bivouac  in  a  waterless  camp, 
and  the  night  before  that  I  had  been  up  nearly  all  night 
taking  observations.  Now  I  felt  that  I  wanted  a  little 
relaxation  before  setting  to  work  on  my  calculations  and 

88 


THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY  89 


other  work  in  hand.  So  I  called  Sadi,  my  boy,  and  Abdi, 
and  asked  for  a  story. 

Abdi  told  a  Somali  story  about  a  jackal,  which  Sadi 
rudely  said  had  neither  point  nor  sweetness.  He  himself 
then  told  some  stories  concerning  Ibn  Nuas,  an  Arab  sage 
buried  at  Makka,  only  he  put  them  into  an  East  African 
setting.  These  are  Sadi's  stories  as  far  as  I  can  remember 
them  : 

"  Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  Sultan  who  disliked 
Ibn  Nuas,  and  wanted  to  break  up  his  house.  To 
frustrate  him  Nuas  burnt  down  his  own  house.  When 
nothing  but  ashes  remained,  he  gathered  them  up,  and 
put  them  in  sacks,  and  in  the  mouth  of  each  sack  he  put  a 
little  coffee.  He  then  loaded  his  sacks  on  donkeys,  and 
left  the  town. 

"  Presently  he  met  with  a  caravan  of  people  who  were 
coming  to  buy  coffee.  They  asked  him  what  he  was 
carrying,  and  he  said,  '  Coffee.'  Then  they  tried  to 
persuade  him  to  sell,  but  he  said  that  he  was  going  on  a 
journey,  and  wanted  it. 

"  At  last  they  offered  him  a  sack  of  gold  for  each  sack 
of  coffee,  and  he  sold  them  his  sacks  after  this  manner. 
Ibn  Nuas  then  returned  to  the  city  with  sacks  of  gold, 
and  people  marvelled  exceedingly. 

"  The  Sultan  called  him,  and  asked  whence  he  had 
obtained  the  money.  He  replied  :  '  There  are  people 
encamped  outside  the  city  who  buy  ashes  for  gold.' 

"  On  hearing  this  news,  the  Sultan  immediately  burnt 
down  his  house,  and  packing  up  the  ashes,  sent  forth  his 
slaves  to  sell  them.  They  met  the  caravan,  and  said  :  '  We 
have  brought  these  ashes  to  sell  for  sacks  of  gold.'  The 
strangers,  who  had  already  discovered  how  they  had  been 
deceived  by  Ibn  Nuas,  took  these  slaves  and  bound  them. 


90 


THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY 


"  When  the  Sultan  heard  that  his  slaves  had  been  taken 
and  bound,  and  his  house  burnt  down  for  no  purpose,  he 
was  exceeding  wroth,  and  took  Ibn  Nuas,  and,  sewing  him 
up  in  a  sack,  left  him  anchored  on  the  shore  to  be  drowned 
by  the  incoming  tide. 

"  Shortly  afterwards  a  man  passing  heard  a  voice  com- 
plaining from  inside  the  sack  :  1  To  be  sewn  up  like  this, 
just  because  I  refused  to  marry  the  Sultan's  daughter — 
truly  this  is  tyranny  ! ' 

"  Hearing  this,  the  man  unfastened  the  sack,  and  him- 
self got  inside,  thinking  that  he  would  thereby  obtain  the 
Sultan's  daughter.  Ibn  Nuas  sewed  him  up,  and  went 
home,  and  sat  for  seven  days  forging  letters  in  the  hand- 
writing of  the  deceased  parents  of  the  Sultan  and  the 
Wazir. 

"  The  following  Friday  he  bound  the  letters  to  his  head, 
plunged  into  the  sea,  and  then  appeared,  all  dripping, 
before  the  Sultan  in  the  congregational  mosque.  He 
unfastened  them  from  Ins  head,  and  gave  them  to  the 
Sultan  and  the  Wazir. 

"  They  read  the  letters,  and  found  that  they  were 
invitations  from  their  deceased  relations  to  visit  them  in 
the  next  world.  The  Sultan  and  Wazir  requested  Nuas 
to  lead  them  to  their  parents,  so  all  set  out  in  a  boat. 

"  Ibn  Nuas  then  said  :  '  You  remain  here  while  I  go 
down  first  to  open  the  gate.'  He  plunged  into  the  sea, 
and  hid  under  the  stern  of  the  boat  for  an  hour,  and  then 
reappeared,  and  invited  them  to  follow  him.  Whereupon 
they  plunged  in,  while  Ibn  Nuas  clambered  into  the  boat, 
and  left  them  there  to  drown. 

"  When  he  arrived  on  shore,  he  said  that  they  had  found 
the  next  world  so  pleasant  that  they  had  decided  to  remain 
there,  and  so  had  sent  him  back  to  become  Sultan." 


THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY  91 


"  It  is  also  said  concerning  Ibn  Nuas  that  once  upon  a 
time  a  man  was  condemned  by  the  Sultan  to  death.  Ibn 
Nuas  asked  that  he  should  be  spared,  and  the  Sultan  said  : 
1  Yes,  he  shall  be  spared  if  you  will  do  two  things  for  me.' 

"  Ibn  Nuas  replied  :  '  And  what  is  the  first  V 

"  '  The  first  is  to  make  me  a  bag  of  stone.' 

"  Ibn  Nuas  then  told  the  Sultan  to  prepare  the 
materials,  so  a  heap  of  stones  was  collected.  He  then 
said  :  '  This  is  good,  but  where  is  the  thread  ?  How 
can  I  sew  a  bag  without  thread  ?  Bring  some  stone 
thread,  and  I  will  sew  your  bag  for  you.' 

"  The  Sultan  said  :  '  You  have  defeated  me,  0  Ibn 
Nuas,  but  you  will  not  do  the  next  thing,  which  is  to  build 
me  a  house  in  the  air.' 

"  Ibn  Nuas  then  secretly  made  large  kites,  with  a 
framework  of  bamboo,  and  to  these  he  fixed  dummy 
figures  and  bells,  and  then  floated  them  over  the  palace 
at  night.  The  Sultan  heard  the  bells  at  night,  and  in 
the  morning  wanted  to  know  the  meaning. 

"  Ibn  Nuas  said  :  '  My  workmen  have  been  up  all 
night,  measuring  the  trenches  and  digging  the  founda- 
tions, and  they  are  now  ready  for  the  coral,*  mortar, 
and  water.  Will  you  please  send  it  up  to  them,  that 
they  may  continue  the  work.' 

"  The  Sultan  said  :  '  Your  wisdom  is  great,  0  Ibn  Nuas, 
and  so  I  will  pardon  this  man.'  " 

Omari,  who  had  joined  us,  then  said  : 

"  Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  Sultan  who  had  a 
thousand  goats.  Then  all  the  Sultan's  goats  died,  except 
one  female. 

"  At  this  time  a  stranger  arrived  in  the  city  who  had 
*  Coral  rag  is  the  general  building  material  on  this  coast. 


92  THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY 


one  male  goat.  The  Sultan  borrowed  the  goat,  and  bred 
from  it  till  three  kids  were  born. 

"  The  stranger  then  asked  for  his  goat  to  be  returned, 
but  the  Sultan  said  :  '  Wait  till  I  get  ten  kids,  and  then 
I  will  divide  them.'  When  ten  had  been  born,  the 
Sultan  said  :  1  You  must  first  plant  my  field  for  me 
before  you  have  the  goats.' 

"  The  stranger  did  this,  and  by  the  time  he  had  finished 
there  were  twenty  young  goats. 

"  He  then  asked  for  his  share  of  the  goats,  but  the 
Sultan  refused  to  give  him  either  his  male  goat  back  or 
any  of  the  kids,  saying  :  '  The  kids  belong  to  the  female, 
and  are  therefore  mine,  and  the  male  goat  is  a  tax  you 
must  pay  me.' 

"  The  stranger  then  complained  to  Ibn  Nuas,  who 
replied  :  '  Do  as  I  bid  you,  and  you  shall  have  your 
goats.' 

"  He  then  went  to  the  Sultan,  and  said  :  '  It  were 
fitting  that  you  had  a  new  audience  -  chamber  built. 
Therefore  you  must  send  the  crier  round,  to  order  every 
person  in  the  town — man  and  woman,  great  and  small — 
to  repair  to  the  palace  to-morrow,  and  set  to  work  on 
this  building.' 

"  The  Sultan  agreed,  and  the  crier  was  sent  round. 
Everyone  in  the  town  went  to  work  at  the  new  building, 
except  the  stranger,  who  had  been  told  by  Ibn  Nuas 
what  to  do.  As  they  were  at  work,  he  passed,  carrying 
a  water-pot  on  his  head. 

"  The  Sultan  had  him  called,  and  asked  why  he  was 
not  working.  He  replied  :  '  My  father  has  given  birth 
to  a  child,  and  so  I  have  to  look  after  him.' 

"  The  Sultan  said  :  '  WTio  has  ever  heard  of  a  man 
giving  birth  to  a  child  V 


THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY  93 


"  Ibn  Nuas,  who  was  sitting  with  him,  said  :  '  Have 
you  never  heard  of  a  man  giving  birth  V 
"  The  Sultan  said  :  1  No,  never.' 

"Then  said  Ibn  Nuas:  "If  a  husband  comes  from 
afar  and  lives  with  a  woman,  to  whom  do  the  children 
belong,  and  whom  do  they  work  for  V 

"  The  Sultan  replied  :  '  The  husband.' 

"  '  And  if  the  husband  goes  away  again,  who  takes 
the  children  V 

"  The  Sultan  replied  :  '  The  husband  takes  as  many 
as  he  pleases.'  "  (This  is  according  to  the  Sheria  and 
Muhammadan  law.) 

"  Then  said  Ibn  Nuas  :  '  Why  did  a  male  goat  come 
and  give  birth  to  children  here,  and  when  he  wanted  to 
go  away  again,  you  said  that  the  children  were  not 
his  V  " 

The  Samburr  at  Naisichu  informed  me  that  there  was 
fresh  water  under  01  doinyo  Mara,  rather  nearer  the 
Rendile  kraals,  but  that  the  Rendile  brought  their 
camels  here,  as  the  brackish  water  was  better  for  them. 
The  clouds  of  dust  disturbed  by  the  herds  of  camels 
coming  in  to  water  could  be  seen  from  afar,  so  the  Sam- 
burr  always  knew  when  they  were  coming. 

In  most  of  the  low  country,  in  places  where  there  was 
both  salt  and  fresh  water,  the  camels  are  taken  to  the 
salt  water  in  preference  by  both  the  Borana  and  Rendile. 

Four  Rendile  old  men  came  in  to  see  me  the  morning 
after  I  arrived  at  Naisichu.  One  of  these  was  a  chief, 
called  Leshaulil,  the  man  I  had  heard  of  at  Obiroi  from 
my  old  friends  there. 

The  first  thing  I  noticed  about  the  Rendile  was  their 
hoarse  voices,  which  at  once  reminded  me  of  SomaHs. 


94  THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY 


They  also  made  use  of  the  Somali  stomatic  gutturals, 
which  I  have  never  heard  amongst  any  other  people. 
This  fact  alone  leaves  little  doubt  in  my  mind  that  they 
were,  as  they  themselves  say,  once  Somalis,  but  have 
been  driven  out  of  Somaliland. 

They  are  supposed  to  be  descended  from  the  Garre 
Somali,  and  were  formerly  Muhammadan,  but  have  now 
lost  this  religion.  This  contention  that  they  were  once 
Muhammadan  seems  true,  as  they  invoke  Allah,  "  Illahu," 
as  do  the  Somalis  ;  and  sometimes  a  man  may  be  heard 
droning,  as  if  reading  the  Koran,  but  no  distinct  words 
are  uttered.  As  Abdi  said,  "  It  would  take  but  little 
to  make  them  embrace  Islam." 

We  can  thus  assume  that  they  were  driven  out  of 
Somaliland  some  time  subsequent  to  the  advent  of  Islam 
in  that  country,  but  probably  before  it  had  got  much 
hold.  Their  present  religion  is  a  most  primitive  belief 
in  God,  and  is  rather  like  that  of  the  Masai. 

It  is  probable  that  after  they  left  Somaliland  their 
incipient  Muhammadism  was  forgotten,  and  they  re- 
verted to  their  ancient  belief  in  a  Supreme  Being  and 
spirits.  Their  present  religion  probably  represents  the 
ancient  worship  of  the  Somalis  before  the  advent  of  the 
Muhammadan  era. 

After  greeting  me  with  "  Nabai'da"  which  some  of 
them  pronounce  "  Nabiai'da,"  they  sat  down,  and  by 
much  questioning  I  elicited  a  fair  amount  of  news  from 
them,  though  it  took  me  over  five  hours'  solid  talking 
to  do  so.  It  appeared  that  there  was  a  large  kraal  a 
few  hours  eastward,  and  that  probably  some  camels 
could  be  purchased  there. 

They  informed  me  that  the  current  rate  of  exchange 
was  thirteen  sheep  and  goats  for  a  baggage-camel,  trained 


THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY  95 


to  carry  loads,  and  twelve  for  an  untrained  one.  How- 
ever, I  was  told  that  they  would  not  be  likely  to  sell  them 
for  sheep  and  goats  only.    They  would  probably  want — 

2  dotis  of  maradufu, 
2  dotis  of  amerikani, 
2  rounds  of  brass  wire, 
2  rounds  of  iron  wire, 
2  male  sheep  or  goats, 
2  female  sheep  or  goats. 

This  sounded  cheap  enough,  but  to  be  prepared  to  meet 
the  demand,  I  thought  it  wise  to  increase  my  stock  of 
sheep  and  goats.  As  the  Samburr  at  this  place  had  been 
offering  some  for  sale,  I  instructed  Omari  to  buy  all  that 
came  in.  We  obtained  forty  in  this  way,  which  were 
subsequently  used  to  feed  the  men,  as  the  Rendile  did 
not  want  them. 

It  appeared  that  there  are  three  routes  from  Naisichu 
outwards — viz.  : 

1.  Round  south  of  iSgiro,  and  then  northwards  to 
Rudolf  and  Mount  Kulal.  On  this  route  they  reported 
water  at  every  day's  camp.  This  would,  when  it  reached 
the  west  of  Ngiro,  be  the  same  as  that  taken  by  Teleki. 

2.  Round  east  of  Ngiro,  and  between  that  mountain 
and  01  doinyo  Mara  to  Kulal.  This  had  water  at  the 
end  of  every  day.  From  Kulal  the  route  up  Rudolf 
could  then  be  taken,  or  a  waterless  route  inland. 

3.  A  route  to  Koroli,  crossing  a  waterless  desert  called 
the  Elges. 

I  immediately  decided  in  favour  of  the  last,  if  I  could 
obtain  camels,  as  it  would  cross  quite  unknown  country. 
However,  it  would  have  been  hopeless  to  try  it  with 
donkeys,  and  so  my  first  consideration  wras  to  obtain 


96         THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY 


camels.  I  did  not  attempt  to  obtain  any  more  informa- 
tion from  Leshaulil  at  present,  except  the  names  of 
camps,  a  few  notes  about  customs,  and  a  little  local 
news. 

It  may  seem,  to  anyone  unversed  in  native  methods, 
that  an  unnecessarily  long  time  was  spent  in  eliciting 
such  information,  but  it  was  not,  as  at  the  end  of  that 
time  I  felt  practically  certain  that  all  the  notes  I  had 
made  were  as  accurate  as  it  was  possible  to  have  them 
from  native  sources. 

The  patience  required  to  get  accurate  information 
from  natives  is  infinite.  One  first  of  all  goes  through 
a  series  of  questions,  and  jots  down  the  pith  of  the  replies. 
Sometimes  an  answer  will  be  a  long  dissertation  on 
nothing  in  particular,  which  must  be  patiently  listened 
to  till  it  has  exhausted  itself,  and  then  the  original  question 
must  be  asked  again  in  a  slightly  modified  form.  Having 
been  through  one's  list  once,  it  is  then  necessary  to  go 
through  the  whole  thing  again,  only  this  time  so  wording 
each  question  that  it  is  not  recognizable  as  the  same  as 
that  asked  before,  and  so  does  not  suggest  to  the  native 
mind  the  answer  just  given. 

For  instance,  supposing  a  question  in  the  first  list 
was,  "  What  is  the  name  of  the  first  camp  on  the  way 
to  Koroli  ?"  the  similar  question  in  the  second  series 
might  be,  "  What  is  the  nearest  water  in  that  direction  f" 
or,  "  Where  do  the  camels  of  such  a  place  water  ?"  Having 
gone  through  your  second  series,  you  find  that  practically 
none  of  the  answers  tally — some,  no  doubt,  because  your 
own  questions  are  at  fault,  and  the  others  because  the 
answers  are  wrong. 

You  then  go  through  a  third  time,  trying,  if  possible, 
to  reconcile  the  two  answers  by  asking,  perhaps  :  "  Why 


THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY  97 


do  not  the  camels  water  at  Arsim  V9  (the  first  camp 
given). 

Then  you  either  hear  that  there  is  no  water  there, 
when  you  were  told  before  that  there  was  plenty,  or  you 
get  a  reasonable  answer,  such  as  that  it  is  too  fresh  for 
them,  or  that  it  is  drawn  up  from  a  well. 

According  as  the  answers  are  favourable  or  unfavour- 
able, I  mentally  mark  up  the  names  or  distances  given 
with  good  or  bad  marks,  and  when  one  place  gets  a 
preponderance  of  good  marks,  it  is  allowed  to  stand  in 
my  notes,  perhaps  with  a  query  mark  after  it,  till  I  can 
find  an  opportunity  of  checking  it  with  someone  else. 

I  gave  the  Rendile  each  a  length  of  maradufu,  and  over 
this  present  there  was  a  discussion  as  to  the  measure- 
ment of  a  doti.  A  doti  is  a  length  of  two  yards  of  calico 
or  other  stuff.  As  natives  have  no  fixed  measures,  they 
generally  use  the  length  of  the  forearm  from  the  elbow- 
point  to  the  tips  of  the  fingers  as  a  measure.  Four  of- 
these  are  supposed  to  go  to  a  doti,  but  with  a  long-armed 
man  it  would  probably  measure  rather  over  two  yards. 

The  Rendile  stoutly  maintained  that  six  arms'-lengths 
went  to  a  doti,  and  that  four  lengths  were  too  short  to 
wear.  As  I  wished  to  make  a  favourable  impression,  I 
waived  this  point,  and  allowed  them  each  to  measure  out 
one  of  their  own  dotis  of  six  lengths.  However,  apparently 
they  thought  that  this  was  too  short,  and  after  each 
measurement  of  an  arm's-length  they  ran  their  hands 
six  inches  or  a  foot  along  the  cloth  before  the  next 
measurement.  Abdi  good-humouredly  stopped  them, 
and  then  explained  that  this  was  a  present,  and  perhaps 
it  did  not  matter,  but  when  it  came  to  business  and 
buying  camels,  they  would  have  to  measure  fairly. 

In  all  my  subsequent  dealings  with  the  Rendile  I 

7 


98         THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY 


noticed  this  Somali  trait  of  trying  to  make  a  bit  coming 
out,  as  they  would  always  insist  on  taking  the  measures 
themselves,  and  always  attempted  to  cheat  in  so  doing. 
Abdi  was  very  down  on  them  at  first,  and  used  to  make 
them  measure  over  and  over  again,  sometimes  pretending 
to  drop  the  end  of  the  calico  by  accident  if  he  thought 
that  they  had  made  too  much,  and  at  others  turning 
round  sharply,  as  if  to  speak  to  someone,  and  pulling  it 
out  of  their  hands. 

However,  I  often  gave  Abdi  the  tip  to  overlook  these 
little  perquisites  later,  as  I  found  that  it  gave  them  such 
intense  satisfaction  to  think  that  they  had  been  sharp 
enough  to  cheat  us  out  of  a  yard  or  two  that  they  would 
often  come  to  easier  terms.  The  sight  of  one  man 
cheating  a  little  at  each  measure  while  Abdi  and  I  pre- 
tended not  to  see  would  perhaps  encourage  another  man, 
who  had  no  intention  of  selling,  to  part  with  a  camel. 

After  receiving  the  price  agreed  upon,  further  presents 
were  always  demanded  before  the  camel  was  handed  over. 
These  would  generally  take  the  form  of  a  knife,  some 
beads,  cotton,  needles,  tobacco,  and  a  few  odds  and  ends. 
Then  perhaps  the  seller  would  insist  on  another  length 
of  calico  in  addition,  or  the  deal  was  off. 

We  would  then  say  that  we  wanted  to  measure  the 
stuff  he  had  already  had,  to  see  if  it  was  all  right.  The 
man  would  be  so  frightened  at  losing  the  few  inches 
he  had  made  with  great  difficulty  on  each  measurement 
that  he  would  at  once  waive  his  claim  to  another  length. 

On  parting  with  Leshaulil,  he  told  me  that  they  ex- 
pected to  see  me  at  their  kraal  next  day,  but  that  they 
could  not  attend  to  the  selling  of  camels  for  two  days, 
as  there  was  a  yearly  festival  to  pray  for  rain,  in  which 
all  took  part. 


THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY  99 


Finally,  they  carried  off  Abdi  to  their  kraal  that  night, 
saying  that  then  I  should  be  sure  to  turn  up  next  morn- 
ing. Abdi  went  off,  delighted  at  the  prospect  of  filling 
himself  with  camel-milk,  a  luxury  he  had  not  tasted  for 
some  time. 

In  the  morning  we  descended  by  a  stony  path  to  the 
Rendile  country,  which  is  situated  at  a  still  lower  level 
than  the  country  we  had  left.  On  the  way  down  we 
suddenly  came  round  a  corner,  and  met  some  Samburr 
sheep  being  driven  by  a  woman  and  a  man.  Directly 
they  saw  me  they  dropped  down  and  clutched  up  hand- 
fuls  of  grass,  and  then  advanced  slowly  and  pressed  them 
into  my  hands,  as  a  sign  of  peace. 

If  the  low  thorn  country  under  the  Lorogai  had  seemed 
an  inhospitable  desert  to  us,  it  was  only  because  we  had 
not  seen  the  Rendile  country.  To  anyone  coming  the 
other  way  it  must  appear  like  Paradise.  A  bare,  desolate 
waste,  covered  with  rocks  and  dust,  and  dotted  with  little 
stony  hills,  was  the  country  we  struck  at  the  foot  of  the 
descent.  The  only  vegetation  apparent  was  the  bare 
thorn-bush  we  already  hated  so  cordially,  and  a  dry, 
leafless  plant  which  affords  grazing  for  the  camel. 

In  the  distance  we  could  see  the  little  huts  of  the 
Rendile  kraal,  blurred  by  heat  and  dust.  Close  to  this, 
near  a  dry  river-bed,  were  a  few  isolated  clumps  of  bush, 
and  for  these  we  steered. 

As  we  approached,  Abdi  and  some  old  men  appeared, 
and  conducted  us  to  one  of  these  clumps,  which  was 
quite  thick  and  offered  fair  shade  inside.  Two  old  men 
busied  themselves  cutting  a  space  in  this  retreat  for  my 
tent,  while  women  brought  twenty  hans  of  water,  which 
they  had  fetched  for  us  that  morning  from  the  nearest 
water-hole,  several  hours  distant. 

7—2 


100        THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY 


The  han  is  a  water-vessel  made  out  of  closely-plaited 
grass,  with  a  tight-fitting  lid.  It  is  generally  kept  in 
a  little  crate  of  sticks,  which  prevents  it  being  staved  in, 
especially  when  being  carried  on  a  camel.  It  is  identical 
in  both  name  and  make  to  that  in  use  in  Somaliland. 

It  appeared  that  Leshaulil  was  only  an  under  chief, 
and  the  chief  of  the  kraal,  a  stoutish  party,  came  over 
presently  to  see  me.  My  retriever  Narok  had  felt  the  heat 
and  dust  of  this  low  country  intensely,  and  was  now 
lying  panting  in  the  shade  of  the  clump.  The  Rendile 
chief  was  very  interested  in  her,  and  drew  my  attention 
to  the  hans  of  water,  saying  that  the  dog  was  thirsty. 
I  was  very  struck  with  this,  as  natives  are  generally  so 
callous  of  the  sufferings  of  animals.  I  had  refrained 
from  giving  Narok  a  drink  out  of  a  han  for  fear  it  should 
be  as  offensive  to  the  Rendile  as  it  is  to  the  Somali  to  see 
a  dog  touch  any  of  their  belongings,  and  therefore  I  was 
awaiting  the  advent  of  the  loads  and  Narok's  plate. 

The  two  old  men,  who,  having  cleared  a  space  for  the 
tent,  were  now  making  a  little  zariba,  I  learnt  were 
Tumals.  These  are  a  race  of  blacksmiths  who  live 
amongst  the  Somalis,  but  who  do  not  share  their  religion. 
They  are  looked  down  on,  and  not  allowed  to  intermarry 
with  the  Somali.  They  are,  by  some,  supposed  to  be, 
with  the  Midgans  or  hunters,  the  original  inhabitants  of 
the  country. 

It  was  interesting  to  find  these  people  also  existed 
among  the  Rendile.  They  were  now  busy  at  work  with 
an  implement  I  had  not  seen  for  a  long  time.  This  was 
a  hangol — a  stick  with  a  fork  at  one  end  and  a  hook  at 
the  other,  used  for  booking  out  or  shoving  in  the  thorn 
branches  of  a  zariba. 

"When  my  loads  arrived,  I  gave  out  a  string  of  beads  to 


THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY  101 


each  of  the  ladies  who  had  brought  in  water.  Many  of 
them  wore  their  hair  in  a  peculiar  fashion,  resembling  a 
cock's  comb,  on  the  top  of  their  head.  This  was  made  by- 
drawing  the  hair  up,  tightly  plaiting  it  on  the  top  of  the 
head,  and  plastering  it  with  red  earth.  Others  wore  their 
hair  in  ringlets,  like  the  Somalis.  Their  hair  was  longer 
and  straighter,  and  their  features  more  regular,  than  the 
women  of  the  tribes  I  had  just  left — the  Masai  and 
Samburr. 

In  spite  of  the  harsh  gutturals,  their  voices  sounded 
softer  and  more  feminine  than  those  of  any  woman  I 
had  met  as  yet  on  my  trek  northwards. 

The  old  chief,  after  watching  me  sitting  in  my  deck- 
chair,  said  that  he  was  sure  he  could  do  that,  and  turned 
me  out  and  himself  settled  down  in  it,  lolling  back  with 
great  satisfaction  to  himself. 

At  two  o'clock  herds  of  camels  began  appearing  from 
all  directions,  advancing  on  the  kraal.  They  generally 
are  driven  back  at  sunset,  but  to-day  they  were  coming 
in  early  because  of  the  festival.  It  transpired  that 
people  had  come  in  from  several  kraals  near,  with  their 
camels,  to  celebrate  this  event. 

There  appeared  to  be  an  enormous  number,  but  camels 
are  most  deceptive.  I  thought  that  I  would  take  Omari 
in,  so  I  asked  him  how  many  camels  he  reckoned  were 
coming.  He  guessed  three  hundred  thousand.  I  then 
said  that  there  were  not  more  than  three  thousand,  and 
we  started  counting  some  of  the  herds,  to  get  a  rough  idea. 
In  this  way  I  gathered  there  were  only  about  fifteen 
hundred.  Omari  said  that  he  was  counting  the  head, 
hump,  and  tail  as  three  separate  animals. 

Presently  the  two  Tumals  returned,  bringing  a  branch. 
This  they  spat  on,  and  then  seized  my  hands  and  spat  on 


102        THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY 


them  also,  and  gave  me  the  branch.  Knowing  that  this 
custom  of  spitting  bestows  a  blessing  amongst  the  Masai, 
I  was  not  as  incensed  as  I  might  reasonably  have  been 
expected  to  be,  but  merely  retired  behind  my  tent  to 
wash  my  hands  with  a  little  of  the  precious  water  out  of 
the  hans.  I  asked  Abdi  to  find  out  what  was  to  be  done 
with  the  branch. 

It  appeared,  after  questioning  them,  that  at  this  festival 
everybody  had  a  branch  of  this  particular  bush  tied  up 
over  their  hut,  and  they  had  brought  one  to  put  over  my 
tent,  so  that  I  should  not  be  left  out  in  the  cold.  They 
then  excused  themselves  and  hurried  back  to  the  kraal, 
as  the  remainder  of  the  day  was  to  be  devoted  to  feasting. 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY  {continued) 

When  it  came  to  the  point,  it  appeared  that  the  Rendile 
really  did  not  wish  to  sell  camels.  They  hoard  camels 
as  a  miser  hoards  gold.  It  was  not  a  question  of  price, 
as  I  was  prepared  to  pay  anything  within  reason  so  long 
as  I  did  not  absolutely  spoil  the  market.  This  is  a  point 
I  am  always  very  careful  about,  as  I  have  so  often  met 
with  preposterous  demands  on  the  part  of  natives  who 
have  been  spoiled  by  rich  travellers. 

Just  to  save  themselves  trouble,  and  to  make  themselves 
appear  great  in  the  eyes  of  the  savage,  some  of  these  people 
give  ridiculous  rewards  for  the  least  service  rendered. 
The  result  is  that  the  poor  traveller  or  hunter  who  follows 
is  treated  with  contempt,  and  cannot  get  any  of  his  needs 
attended  to. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  quite  recognize  that  the  country 
and  goods  of  natives  are  their  own,  and  that  one  has  no 
right  whatever  to  force  them  to  give  up  their  land  or  to 
sell  goods  which  they  wish  to  preserve  for  themselves. 
Many  travellers  get  annoyed  when  they  find  that  natives 
will  not  sell  them  their  stock,  and  take  it  by  force, 
thinking  that  this  is  quite  justifiable  if  they  leave  presents 
in  exchange. 

Unjust  action  of  this  sort  is  generally  deeply  resented 
by  natives,  and  remembered  for  years.    The  news  spreads 

103 


104        THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY 


quickly  to  all  the  neighbouring  tribes,  and  may  be  the 
cause  of  subsequent  travellers  being  molested  by  the 
people  through  whom  they  pass.  One  does  not  expect 
to  meet  with  gratitude  or  deep  affection  from  natives, 
but  they  are  very  sensible  of  just  and  considerate  treat- 
ment. Wherever  I  have  been  I  have  always  been  most 
careful  in  all  my  dealings  with  natives  of  the  country, 
paying  for  everything  received  or  service  rendered,  and 
conforming  to  their  wishes  as  much  as  possible,  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  allowing  no  impertinence  or  insolence  on 
their  part.  The  result  is  that  I  could  revisit  any  of  the 
places  I  have  ever  been  to,  and  be  received  well,  and  in 
most  cases  with  open  arms,  by  the  inhabitants. 

Here  it  became  at  once  apparent  that  the  Rendile  were 
not  anxious  to  sell,  or,  at  any  rate,  wished  to  haggle  for 
days  before  parting  with  anything.  They  at  once  offered 
sheep  for  sale,  some  of  which  I  bought,  so  as  to  encourage 
a  desire  for  my  calicoes  amongst  the  others. 

The  Rendile  mark  all  their  sheep  and  goats  by  a  semi- 
circle cut  out  of  the  front  of  either  ear,  in  shape  like  a 
large  bite  out  of  a  piece  of  bread  and  butter. 

Abdi  and  I  put  our  heads  together,  and  for  two  days 
we  talked  solidly  to  the  old  men  about  different  matters, 
bringing  in  the  subject  of  camels  every  now  and  again. 
Every  time  we  reverted  to  the  subject  of  camels  they  said 
there  was  no  hurry,  they  would  see  about  it  in  a  few  days' 
time.  They  also  harped  continually  on  an  ancient 
grievance  that  somewhere  some  white  man  had  taken 
camels  for  nothing.  At  last,  on  the  third  day,  some  of 
them  said  that  there  were  a  few  men  in  the  zariba  who 
wished  to  sell,  and  finally  one  camel  was  produced  to  see 
what  sort  of  price  we  would  give. 

It  did  not  take  long  to  fix  up  a  price  satisfactory  to 


THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY  105 


both  parties,  but  this  having  been  decided  on,  the  work 
had  only  just  begun,  for  calico  was  folded  and  unfolded 
time  after  time,  and  measured  again  and  again.  They 
were  really  most  exasperating,  the  way  they  insisted  on 
slowly  measuring  out  each  bit  of  calico.  If  they  thought 
they  had  not  made  enough,  they  would  start  all  over  again 
from  the  beginning. 

Abdi's  tact  and  patience  filled  me  with  admiration,  as 
I  felt  a  hundred  times  like  turning  them  all  out  of  camp, 
although  I  knew  we  must  do  our  best  to  bear  with  them. 
Finally  one  man  insisted  that  two  identical  bits  of  calico 
were  of  different  quality,  and  wanted  us  to  undo  some  of 
our  bales  for  him  to  choose  from.  This  I  did  not  wish  to 
do,  for,  as  Abdi  wisely  said,  "  They  always  want  all  they 
see,  and  we  must  only  put  a  little  out  each  day."  I  solved 
the  problem  by  tearing  a  bit  off  each  piece,  and,  putting 
them  together,  asked  him  to  say  which  was  torn  from 
which  piece.  After  great  cogitation  he  confessed  himself 
defeated. 

The  first  deal  was  apparently  satisfactory,  for  after  it 
had  been  concluded  three  more  camels  appeared,  and 
were  bought  for  the  same  price.  Only  a  few  camels  are 
trained  for  loads  by  each  man  to  carry  his  own  or  his 
family's  belongings.  As  want  of  grazing  might  cause 
them  to  move  at  any  time,  they  are  naturally  unwilling  to 
sell  any  of  these,  unless  they  have  too  many,  which  is 
seldom  the  case. 

Leshaulil  told  us  that  there  were  no  more  men  in  the 
kraal  who  wanted  to  sell,  but  that  the  Rendile,  at  a  place 
called  Arsim,  a  day's  march  away,  had  sent  in  to  say  that 
they  were  coming  into  Disbahai,  our  present  quarters,  and 
wished  me  to  await  them,  as  they  had  some  camels  to  sell. 

As  I  was  loath  to  waste  any  more  time  in  inactivity,  I 


106        THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY 


left  Abdi  at  Disbahai  to  arrange  for  the  purchase  of  camels 
when  the  Arsim  people  arrived,  and  decided  to  visit  the 
north  end  of  01  doinyo  Mara  myself,  so  as  to  sketch  the 
country  in  that  direction,  and  take  some  observations  on 
Mount  Kulal. 

The  heat  and  dust  of  this  low  country  is  so  great  that 
marches  through  the  heat  of  the  day  are  impossible,  even 
for  the  Rendile  themselves.  I  had  asked  for  guides  the 
night  before,  but  they  did  not  turn  up,  so  I  set  out  with  a 
few  of  the  men  before  sunrise. 

We  followed  the  foot  of  01  doinyo  Mara,  and  at  our 
first  halt  Leshaulil  and  another  Rendile  came  up  breath- 
less, saying  that  they  had  heard  that  we  had  started 
without  guides,  and  so  had  hurried  after  us.  I  was  very 
glad  to  see  him,  as  I  always  found  him  pleasant  and 
obliging,  and  ready  to  help  us,  whereas  the  other  chief, 
though  always  most  genial,  never  did  anything  for  us. 

At  2  p.m.  we  halted  under  the  hill,  and  Leshaulil  said 
that  there  was  a  water-hole  on  a  terrace  of  rock  above  us. 
I  sent  some  of  the  men  up  with  Leshaulil,  and  they  found 
a  little  water  which  had  been  fouled  by  a  giraffe.  They 
brought  back  a  bucket  and  tank  of  this,  which  was  very 
dirty  and  muddy. 

At  sunset  we  proceeded  again,  and  marched  three  hours 
by  moonlight,  reaching  a  northern  spur  of  01  doinyo  Mara, 
from  which  Kulal  could  be  seen.  I  then  ascended  the  hill 
above  camp,  and  took  observations,  finishing  up  at 
4  a.m.  I  returned  to  my  sleeping  men,  and  turned  in  till 
seven  o'clock,  when  I  commenced  observations  again. 

At  3  p.m.  we  started  back,  arriving  at  Disbahai  at 
midnight.  The  people  of  Arsim  had  not  come  in,  as  one 
of  their  women  had  just  given  birth  to  a  child,  so  I  decided 
to  trek  off  there. 


THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY  107 


I  had  doctored  many  of  the  Rendile  here  for  ailments, 
real  and  imaginary,  and  now  the  chief,  a  robust,  jovial- 
looking  man,  came  into  my  camp  with  a  very  long  face, 
and  said  that  he  was  very  ill,  and  wanted  some  medicine. 
Various  inquiries  failed  to  elicit  the  nature  of  his  ailment, 
so  I  asked  how  long  he  had  been  feeling  bad,  expecting  to 
get  the  answer,  "  Since  yesterday,"  or,  "  Since  last 
night."  To  my  surprise,  however,  he  said  that  he  had 
been  ill  from  childhood  until  now.  On  imparting  this 
information  he  shook  his  head  and  groaned. 

As  he  had  been  perfectly  fit  before,  I  consulted  the 
invaluable  Abdi  as  to  the  nature  of  his  affliction.  Abdi 
said  :  "  Oh,  he  has  seen  you  giving  out  medicines  here, 
and  now  he  hears  that  you  are  going  away,  he  thinks  that 
he  will  never  get  a  chance  of  obtaining  some  unless  he 
asks  you  to-day." 

There  was  one  displeasing  bit  of  news  I  was  told  here, 
and  that  was  that  the  Reshiat,  at  the  north  of  Lake 
Rudolf,  had  been  attacked  by  the  Abyssinians,  and  they 
had  all  taken  refuge  in  the  islands  or  on  the  other  side  of 
the  lake.  If  this  was  true,  it  was  a  bad  look-out  for  us, 
as  it  was  in  this  country  that  we  had  our  first  opportunity 
of  replenishing  our  supply  of  food.  If  the  Reshiat  no 
longer  existed  there,  I  did  not  know  where  we  might  be 
able  to  procure  food. 

A  meeting  of  Rendile  elders  assembled  to  ask  my  advice, 
saying  that,  having  heard  this,  they  feared  the  Abyssinians 
greatly.  Even  now  they  were  pushing  down  towards 
them.  They  had  sent  to  ask  the  white  men  to  help 
them  against  the  Abyssinians,  and  we  had  not  done  so. 
What  were  they  to  think  ?  That  we  were  in  league  with 
the  Abyssinians,  or  that  we  feared  them  ?  Now  they 
asked  me  what  they  should  do. 


108        THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY 


I  replied  :  "  You  ask  me  why  the  white  men  do  not  come 
down  here  that  they  may  protect  you  against  the 
Abyssinians.  I  do  not  know  what  is  in  the  heart  of  our 
chief,  but  I  know  this  :  yours  is  a  very  bad  country ;  there 
is  no  water  and  no  food  for  us  here.  What  white  man 
would  desire  to  come  to  your  country  ?  What  have  you 
to  offer  him  ?  Will  you  build  him  a  house  to  live  in  ? 
will  you  go  and  fetch  his  loads  here  from  Nairobi  ?  will 
you  offer  him  great  wealth  when  he  comes  ?  No,  you 
have  nothing. 

"  Now,  as  regards  these  Abyssinians,  be  careful  not  to 
embroil  yourselves  with  them,  as  they  are  strong  and 
numerous.  Where  you  see  one  in  front  there  will  be  a 
thousand  behind. 

"  Now,  this  place  is  far  from  the  white  man's  country, 
and  he  does  not  know  what  happens  here  ;  and  now  I  see 
your  state  is  like  that  of  which  the  Swahili  poet  Liongo* 
wrote  :  '  Before  me  is  a  lion,  and  behind  me  is  the  deep 
sea.'  For  before  you  are  the  Abyssinians,  and  behind 
you  the  white  men.  Now,  my  advice  to  you  as  a  friend 
is  this  :  If  the  lion  advances  towards  you,  fall  back  to  the 
deep  sea.  Should  it  then  be  said  by  the  white  men, 
'  Why  do  you  crowd  into  our  country  V  say  to  them  : 
6  We  cannot  do  otherwise,  for  there  is  a  Hon  in  front  of  us.' 

"  Now,  of  these  two  things,  the  Hon  and  the  deep  sea, 
which  is  the  stronger  ?  Can  the  lion  cross  the  deep  sea  ? 
No  ;  therefore  choose  the  deep  sea." 

After  this  meeting,  I  spent  the  rest  of  the  day  buying 
hans  and  camel-mats,  and  wanted  to  trek  off  at  7  p.m., 
at  which  hour  the  moon  rose.  We  procured  a  guide, 
who  said  that  it  was  better  to  wait  till  the  moon  got  up  a 

*  Liongo  was  a  famous  chief,  poet  and  bowman,  who  lived  at  Ozi, 
on  the  coast,  several  hundred  years  ago. 


THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY  109 


bit,  pointing  to  its  position  at  ten  o'clock,  and  then  we 
should  get  into  Arsim  early  in  the  morning.  His  last 
words  as  he  left  our  camp  to  go  back  to  the  zariba  were  : 
"  Have  no  fear  ;  you  just  sleep,  and  I  will  wake  you  up 
at  the  right  time  to  get  into  Arsim  in  the  morning." 

The  men  all  went  to  sleep,  but,  having  had  experience 
of  native  guides,  I  sat  up  and  waited.  Ten  o'clock  came, 
and  then  eleven  and  twelve,  and  yet  no  guide.  I  sent 
Abdi  over  to  the  zariba,  and  he  presently  returned  with 
Leshaulil,  who  had  volunteered  to  replace  the  guide,  and 
also  some  women  to  load  our  camels  for  us,  as  we  had 
not  yet  learnt  the  intricacies  of  fastening  the  saddle-mats. 

The  Rendile  use  camel-mats  much  smaller  than  those 
of  the  Somali.  These  are  kept  in  position  by  four  poles 
fastened  as  in  the  photograph.  These  poles  also  serve 
the  purpose  of  keeping  the  loads  from  rubbing  against  the 
animal's  back  and  sides.  They  can  also  be  used  at  the 
journey's  end  for  making  into  a  hut.  The  mat,  called 
herio,  as  in  Somali,  is  made  of  aloe-fibre,  as  is  also  the  rope 
used  for  fastening  them  and  the  loads  to  the  camels. 
The  Somalis  do  not  use  aloe  for  the  herio,  as  they  say  that 
it  is  bad  for  the  back. 

The  camel  is  led  by  a  rope  passing  round  the  animal's 
lower  jaw,  and  not  fastened  to  its  nose,  as  amongst  the 
Arabs,  whilst  strings  of  camels  are  formed  by  fastening 
the  jaw-rope  of  one  animal  to  the  saddle  of  the  one  in 
front.  In  Somaliland  and  Arabia  this  rope  is  fastened  to 
the  tail  of  the  leading  animal. 

We  heard  glowing  accounts  of  Arsim,  being  told  that 
we  should  be  able  to  buy  unlimited  camels  there,  and  that 
we  should  also  find  a  running  stream.  Natives  always 
give  one  such  optimistic  accounts  of  places  to  be  visited  ; 
it  always  appears  that  there  is  nothing  whatever  to  be 


110        THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY 


had  in  the  place  where  one  is,  but  always  a  march  ahead 
almost  anything  can  be  obtained. 

We  felt  very  pleased  to  hear  about  the  water,  as  we  had 
had  either  to  send  for  our  water  from  afar,  or  buy  it  of  the 
Renclile  women  during  our  stay  at  Disbahai.  For  five 
days  now  I  had  not  been  able  to  wash  my  hands  or  face. 

The  loading  and  preparations  were  not  finished  till 
3  a.m.,  and  then  we  trekked  steadily  till  midday  on  the 
morrow,  at  which  time  we  arrived  at  a  big  kraal  at  Arsim. 
The  morning  had  been  terrifically  hot,  and  both  men  and 
donkeys  were  tired  out. 

On  arrival,  the  Legwanan  of  the  kraal,  an  old  man  called 
01  lasarge,  brought  me  a  very  nasty  concoction  of  sour 
camel's  milk,  mixed  with  muddy  water,  in  a  dirty  vessel. 
I  was  too  thirsty  to  reject  it,  and  after  having  drunk  some, 
fully  endorsed  Abdi's  opinion  that  a  mixture  of  sour 
camel's  milk  and  water  was  the  surest  means  of  quenching 
thirst.  Certainly  one  would  not  drink  more  of  it  than 
one  could  help. 

The  water,  we  were  told,  was  still  two  hours  distant. 
As  we  wanted  to  procure  camels,  we  decided  to  stop  here 
amongst  the  kraals,  and  buy  water  from  the  Rendile. 
The  reason  that  the  Rendile  live  always  at  a  distance 
from  the  water  is  to  obtain  grazing  for  their  camels. 
Water-holes  are  so  few  and  far  between  in  this  country 
that  if  all  the  kraals  camped  near  the  water-hole  from 
which  they  draw  water,  the  grazing  would  be  finished  in 
a  day  or  two. 

01  lasarge  was  an  old  man  who  had  become  rather 
imbecile  in  his  old  age.  He  protested  volubly  that  he 
would  make  all  arrangements  for  me  to  buy  camels,  and 
do  everything  he  could  for  me.  He  had  a  nice  quiet 
laibon  (medicine-man)  called  Beua,  who,  it  transpired, 


Rendile  Maidens 


This  photograph  was  taken  in  the  valley  of  Arsim.  The  girls  are  dressed  in  skins,  w  ith  numerous 
strings  of  big  Somali  beads  round  the  neck,  and  bracelets  of  brass  wire.  They  are  wearing  sandals, 
like  all  the  natives  of  this  country,  as  the  ground  is  too  hot  for  the  bare  feet.  Their  hair  is  in 
ringlets,  and  not  done  up  in  the  crest  or  comb  affected  by  the  Rendile  matrons. 


THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY  111 


was  a  relation  of  Abdi's.  Abdi  had  become  very  distrait 
since  his  arrival  here,  and  I  then  found  out  that  he  had 
discovered  his  mother  in  the  kraal.  It  appeared  that  he 
had  originally  been  a  Rendile,  and  had  been  captured  as  a 
child  by  a  raiding  party  of  Somalis. 

Beua  told  us  that  the  old  men  of  the  kraal  were  just 
waiting  to  see  what  01  lasarge  did,  and  if,  as  they  ex- 
pected, he  did  nothing,  they  would  themselves  arrange 
for  me  the  selling  of  camels.  There  were,  they  said, 
several  men  anxious  to  sell,  but  the  chief  would  not  let 
them.  Finally  one  man  came  up,  and  said  that  he  wanted 
to  sell  a  camel,  but  that  he  was  frightened  of  01  lasarge, 
and  so  would  bring  it  that  night. 

He  had  just  gone  back  to  fetch  it,  when  01  lasarge 
appeared,  and,  sitting  down,  said  that  he  had  taken  a 
great  fancy  to  me.  On  my  arrival,  he  had  given  me  milk, 
referring  to  the  aforesaid  milk  and  water,  and  now  he 
would  arrange  for  me  concerning  the  purchase  of  ten 
camels,  and.  having  settled  everything  for  me,  he  would 
take  me  by  the  hand  and  lead  me  to  the  next  kraal  and 
arrange  for  everything  there  also.  I  was  to  do  nothing 
myself  ;  he  would  fix  up  everything. 

I  sincerely  hoped  that  he  would  not  carry  out  this 
threat,  as  he  had  successfully  prevented  my  buying  camels 
here,  and  would  probably  do  likewise  at  the  next  kraal. 
However,  I  replied  that  he  had  treated  me  as  a  son. 

Abdi  then  said  to  the  old  man  :  "  Our  master  has  taken 
a  great  liking  to  you.  He  has  heard  that  you  have  a 
daughter,  and  wishes  to  marry  her.  What  dowry  will 
you  bestow  on  her  ?"  I  then  told  Abdi  to  say  :  "Tell 
my  father  that  it  is  growing  late,  and  he  is  old  ;  let  him 
return  to  his  house  before  darkness  sets  in."  We  were 
anxious  to  get  rid  of  him  before  the  man  with  the  camel 


112        THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY 


turned  up,  but  he  stopped  on  ;  and  finally,  on  his  way 
back,  he  met  the  camel  being  brought  down  for  sale. 
The  owner,  when  he  saw  01  lasarge,  turned  round  and 
hurried  back,  and  so  we  lost  our  chance  that  night. 

Next  day  we  managed  to  buy  the  camel,  and  Leshaulil, 
who  had  been  visiting  a  neighbouring  kraal,  came  in  with 
the  news  that  they  were  anxious  to  sell  some  camels. 
As  nothing  was  doing,  we  decided  to  go  on,  and  Beua  said 
that  he  would  accompany  us. 

Leshaulil  now  wanted  to  return.  He  had  done  well  by 
us,  as  twice,  although  himself  a  chief,  he  had  taken  the 
place  of  the  missing  guides,  and  now  he  had  ascertained 
the  whereabouts  of  camels  for  sale.  Further  than  this, 
he  had  introduced  me  in  favourable  terms  to  the  kraals 
here,  as  one  who  would  not  harm  or  take  advantage  of 
anyone.  News  of  this  sort  spreads  quickly,  and  we 
subsequently  found  that  word  was  sent  as  far  as  Laipera 
that  a  "  quiet  and  gentle  white  man  99  was  coming  up. 

It  is  curious  that  amongst  natives,  so  noisy  in  them- 
selves, a  quiet  white  man  inspires  confidence.  A  man 
that  raves  and  storms  is  either  laughed  at  or  detested  by 
natives. 

At  last,  after  prodigious  trouble  and  incessant  talking, 
and  visiting  different  kraals,  we  managed  to  collect  eleven 
camels  in  all.  It  seemed  impossible  to  persuade  anybody 
to  sell  me  any  more  unless  I  seriously  delayed  my  journey 
by  trekking  still  farther  to  the  east.  I  had  hoped  to 
obtain  about  fifty,  so  as  to  carry  a  food-supply  and 
water  in  hans,  and  have  plenty  of  spare  animals,  so  as 
to  be  able  to  make  forced  marches.  I  now  had  to  do  the 
best  I  could  with  these  eleven. 

During  this  time  we  had  been  either  buying  our  water 
or  sending  to  the  spring  at  Arsim,  or  another,  called 


THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY  113 


El  Laut.  As  these  two  watering-places,  both  of  which 
had  only  brackish  water,  were  the  last  this  side  of  the 
waterless  Elges,  it  now  became  necessary  to  make  prepara- 
tions to  cross  this  waterless  tract.  It  was  impossible  to 
take  the  donkeys  across  this  stretch,  even  if  they  had  not 
been  played  out,  whilst  several  of  them  had  died  of 
tsetse.  I  decided  to  send  what  remained  of  the  donkeys 
back  to  Nairobi. 

I  thought  that  T  should  have  some  difficulty  in  obtaining 
volunteers  for  the  return  journey,  as  the  men  would 
consider  it  a  disgrace  to  be  sent  back  before  the  journey 
was  finished.  To  my  surprise,  however,  there  was  no 
difficulty  in  finding  men.  The  heat  of  the  Rendile 
country  had  told  on  them  already,  as  also  the  discomfort 
of  always  being  far  from  water.  Moreover,  having  heard 
exaggerated  accounts  of  the  Abyssinians  from  the  local 
natives,  they  were  beginning  to  fear  that  we  should  not 
be  well  received  by  them. 

I  did  not  hear  till  long  afterwards,  but  it  transpired 
later  that  a  great  number  of  the  men  talked  of  returning 
from  here,  and  even  of  running  away.  Rumours  were 
bruited  around  that  they  would  have  various  limbs 
amputated  and  dissected  on  arrival  in  Abyssinia,  and 
altogether,  if  I  had  known  it,  my  chances  of  losing  most 
of  my  men  at  this  camp  were  great. 

Some  of  the  porters  said  :  "  But  if  we  return  without 
the  master,  and  with  no  letter  from  him,  how  shall  we 
explain  our  presence  in  Nairobi  ?"  Others  said  :  "  Oh, 
we  will  say  that  he  died,  or  was  killed  in  the  way."  Then 
some  of  the  bolder  spirits  spoke  up,  and  said  :  "  You  men 
have  no  hearts  ;  we  are  going  with  the  master.  We  don't 
believe  in  your  stories  of  the  Abyssinians,  but  if  it  comes 
to  dying  in  the  way,  then  we  will  all  die  together." 

8 


114        THE  RENDILE  COUNTRY 


From  scraps  of  conversation  I  afterwards  heard,  it 
appeared  that  my  boy  Sadi,  the  weakling  whom  I  had 
wished  to  leave  behind,  and  a  small  man  called  Osmani, 
were  the  foremost  amongst  those  who  resolved  to  push  on. 

Abdi,  of  course,  was  not  admitted  to  these  counsels,  or 
he  would  have  immediately  told  me  about  them.  How- 
ever, of  all  this  I  knew  nothing,  so  I  selected  five  men  to 
return  with  the  donkeys  as  well  as  the  Suk  guide. 

Of  this  personage,  enlisted  at  Rumuruti,  I  have  said 
nothing.  He  was  a  cheerful,  genial  individual.  Accord- 
ing to  him,  he  always  knew  the  country  just  ahead  and 
just  behind,  but  throughout  our  journey  he  had  not  felt 
competent  to  guide  us  during  a  single  day.  As  Abdi 
said  :  "  What  strange  people  are  those  of  this  land  ! 
Now,  there  is  that  Suk.  He  never  knows  the  country 
till  we  have  passed  it,  and  then  he  says,  '  Oh,  I  was  living 
in  a  Samburr  kraal  there  once,'  or,  '  Do  you  remember 
that  valley  we  passed  to-day  ?  We  once  had  some  goats 
we  had  captured  from  the  Turkana  there.'  " 

The  other  men  were  selected  from  the  worst  of  my 
porters.  A  number  of  things  had  to  be  arranged  :  guides 
had  to  be  procured  for  them  ;  food  sufficient  to  take  them 
to  Rumuruti  had  to  be  issued  ;  money  for  the  purchase  of 
food  from  there  to  Nairobi,  and  a  host  of  other  small 
matters. 

Finally,  I  wrote  my  last  letters  for  home,  and  giving 
them  final  instructions  for  the  journey  and  presents  for 
the  chiefs  they  were  to  pass  on  the  way,  I  bade  them 
good-bye,  and  turned  my  attention  to  our  preparations 
for  crossing  the  waterless  Elges. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE  WATEELESS  ELGES 

Eleven  camels  may  sound  ample  for  one  white  man's 
caravan,  but  it  was  not  so.  I  still  had  twenty  loads  of 
food  for  the  men,  which  took  five  camels  to  carry.  It 
was  also  impossible  to  pass  through  a  country  like 
Abyssinia  empty-handed,  and  my  trade  goods  and  water- 
tanks  were  carried  by  the  other  six.  My  personal  kit, 
instruments,  books,  medicines,  etc.,  were  divided  up  into 
light  loads,  and  carried  by  the  men  who  were  not  leading 
camels. 

Six  men  were  apportioned  to  the  camels.  At  first  they 
were  very  frightened  of  us,  and  still  more  so  of  Narok. 
When  one  of  us  came  near,  they  would  jump  about  and 
kick  their  loads  off.  They  soon  got  accustomed  to  me.  as 
I  used  to  walk  round  at  intervals  during  the  night  whilst 
they  were  kneeling  down,  coming  a  little  nearer  every 
time.  It  was  a  long  time,  however,  before  they  became 
used  to  the  sight  of  porters  with  loads  on  their  heads. 

A  camel  is  always  frightened  of  a  strange  object,  even 
if  it  is  only  something  inanimate.  However,  they  are 
not  so  foolish  as  a  horse,  who  will  shy  at  the  same  thing 
every  day,  as,  once  they  have  learnt  that  anything  is 
harmless,  they  will  never  be  afraid  of  it  again. 

We  soon  mastered  the  intricacies  of  loading  them  in  the 
Rendile  way,  but  we  were  very  much  at  sea  at  first.  I 

115  8—2 


116       THE  WATERLESS  ELGES 


had  often  seen  Somalis  catching  camels  and  bringing 
them  in,  but  never  noticed  particularly  how  it  was  done. 

When  they  came  back  from  grazing  the  first  day,  we 
wanted  to  tie  them  up  to  prevent  them  running  off  to  one 
of  the  kraals  during  the  night.  We  had  the  ropes  and 
we  had  the  camels,  but  we  did  not  know  how  to  get  the 
latter  in  a  kneeling  position.  When  we  tried  to  get  the 
rope  round  their  noses,  they  haughtily  put  their  heads 
up  in  the  air  far  out  of  reach  ;  finally,  we  had  to  get  some 
Rendile  women  to  show  us. 

The  rope  is  first  tied  round  the  neck,  and  then  the  end 
is  thrown  over  the  animal's  nose.  With  this  end  the  head 
must  be  very  gently  pulled  down  till  it  comes  within 
reach,  when  the  lip  must  be  seized  with  a  quick  move- 
ment. If  any  force  is  employed  in  pulling  the  head  down, 
as  we  had  tried,  the  camel  tosses  his  head,  and  the  rope 
slips  off  his  nose.  After  one  or  two  unsuccessful  efforts, 
the  animal  will  probably  get  cunning,  and  skilfully  avoid 
the  rope  every  time  it  is  flung  up. 

Arsim  and  El  Laut  are  two  springs  on  the  north  side 
of  General  Matthews  Range.  On  the  mountain  above 
this  place  a  band  of  robbers  were  reported  to  have  taken 
up  their  abode,  making  raids  on  the  flocks  of  the  people 
living  on  either  side.  After  leaving  the  range,  there  is  no 
more  water,  we  were  told,  until  a  well  called  Laipera  is 
reached.    This  lies  at  the  north  side  of  the  Elges. 

The  Elges  is  uninhabited,  except  at  the  edge.  On  our 
side  there  was  a  kraal  a  few  hours  from  the  mountains, 
and  to  this  we  moved.  We  got  the  Rendile  of  this  kraal 
to  fetch  a  good  supply  of  water  for  us  from  El  Laut, 
three  hours  distant,  and  with  this  we  filled  all  our  hans 
and  water-tanks. 

The  two  chiefs  of  the  kraal  at  which  we  were  stopping 


THE  WATERLESS  ELGES  117 


were  half-brothers,  and  both  were  called  Laisinfesha. 
The  people  of  this  kraal  are  peculiar  in  that  they  are  the 
only  Rendile  who  do  not  eat  either  camel  or  goat.  When 
one  of  their  camels  is  sick,  they  send  for  people  of  a 
neighbouring  kraal  to  buy  it  before  it  dies.  The  only 
reason  they  gave  me  for  the  observance  of  this  custom 
was  that  it  was  the  dying  injunction  of  an  ancestor.  A 
girl  of  this  kraal  on  the  day  she  marries  a  man  of  another 
kraal  is  released  from  the  necessity  of  observing  this  rule. 

While  at  Laisinfesha's  a  youth  came  into  camp  and 
began  talking  to  Abdi.  As  he  seemed  very  communi- 
cative, I,  with  Abdi's  help,  elicited  much  information 
from  him  about  the  Rendile.  According  to  him  and 
others  whom  I  had  questioned,  the  Rendile  were  formerly 
great  warriors.  In  rights  with  the  Somalis  they  asserted 
that  they  completely  exterminated  one  raiding  expedition. 
On  another  occasion  everyone  who  took  part  in  the  fight 
on  both  sides  was  killed.  I  asked  how  the  Rendile  on 
foot  managed  to  fight  the  mounted  Somali,  and  was  told 
that  they  are  very  fleet  of  foot,  and  on  the  rough  and 
stony  ground  of  the  escarpments  are  able  to  move  as 
rapidly  as  the  Somali  pony.  They  use  spears,  but  do 
not  carry  shields,  saying  that  a  man  who  carries  a  shield 
is  a  coward.  Formerly  they  possessed  many  ponies, 
but  now  they  have  practically  none  at  all.  In  all  the 
kraals  I  visited  I  only  saw  one. 

I  have  mentioned  the  similarity  of  their  language  to 
Somali.  A  few  of  these  Somali  words  seem  to  have 
travelled  far  afield.  I  do  not  know  what  the  explanation 
of  this  circumstance  is.  To  mention  one  instance,  the 
Somali  and  Rendile  word  rob,  meaning  rain,  is  found 
as  robta  amongst  the  Kisii,  Lumbwa,  Suk,  Nandi,  Ka- 
masia,  Elgeyo,  and  Sotik,  but  not  amongst  some  of  the 


118        THE  WATERLESS  ELGES 


tribes  who  border  on  the  Somali  and  Rendile,  such  as  the 
Samburr  and  Masai.  The  Nandi,  Lumbwa,  and  Sotik 
use  the  Somali  word  bokhol,  for  a  hundred,  unchanged. 

I  might  explain  here  what  the  word  Lokkob  means,  as 
it  has  been  assumed  by  former  travellers  that  there  is  a 
tribe  of  that  name.  Lokkob  is  the  Rendile  corruption 
for  the  word  Loikop.  Thus  it  was  the  old  Laikipia 
Masai,  now  no  longer  existing,  who  were  originally  called 
Lokkob  by  the  Rendile.  Now  it  is  used  to  denote  the 
people  who  live  in  the  Loikop  country — viz.,  El-burrgu 
Masai  and  Samburr — while  in  its  wider  sense  it  is  used  to 
denote  any  non-camel-breeding  tribe,  such  as  the  Reshiat 
and  El-molo.  The  Turkana  are  known  to  both  Borana, 
Rendile,  and  also  Somali,  as  Samai  der  (the  long  spear- 
hafts). 

Having  obtained  a  guide,  I  decided  to  start  across  the 
Elges  at  night,  as  soon  after  moonrise  as  possible.  Women 
came  down  to  help  us  load  our  camels,  and  were  rewarded 
with  beads.  The  loading  up  took  a  tremendous  time, 
and  it  was  not  till  1.30  a.m.  that  we  got  away. 

Progress  was  very  slow,  as  the  men  and  camels  were 
strange  to  each  other,  and  loads  kept  slipping  off.  I  had 
two  camels  carrying  hans  full  of  water  besides  the  water- 
tanks  ;  but,  as  luck  would  have  it,  both  these  camels 
got  frightened,  and  began  prancing  about.  The  men 
with  them  did  not  know  how  to  stop  them,  and  they  both 
succeeded  in  spilling  all  the  water  they  were  carrying. 
One  han  also  fell  off,  and  the  camel  put  his  foot  on  it 
and  smashed  it.  Another  delay  ensued  to  collect  and 
fasten  on  the  empty  hans,  which  had  come  adrift.  At 
last  we  proceeded,  and  some  time  after  noon  we  found 
some  fair  shade,  and  halted. 

Everybody  was  very  knocked  up  with  the  heat,  and 


THE  WATERLESS  ELGES 


119 


unable  to  eat  anything.  Owing  to  the  accident  to  the 
hans,  it  was  impossible  to  distribute  any  water  till  the 
evening,  when  I  gave  out  a  small  bowl  to  everyone. 

It  was  no  use  loading  up  yet,  as  we  could  not  proceed 
in  the  dark,  so  we  awaited  the  moon.  Everybody  went 
off  fast  asleep  on  the  ground,  myself  included.  Fortu- 
nately, the  rising  moon  awoke  me,  so  I  roused  up  the 
men,  and  we  loaded  the  camels  and  started  off  again. 

This  time  they  went  well,  and  there  were  few  delays. 
We  marched  till  ten  o'clock  the  next  day,  and  then,  as 
it  was  practically  impossible  to  proceed  farther  in  the 
sun  on  our  small  allowance  of  water,  we  halted.  The 
only  vegetation  here  was  the  low  country  thorn,  and  so 
we  rigged  up  waterproof-sheets  and  camel-mats  to  shelter 
us  from  the  sun. 

The  guide  said  that  Laipera  was  two  and  a  half  to  three 
hours  farther,  so  we  hoped  to  reach  it  that  night.  I  gave 
out  another  bowl  of  water  apiece  on  our  arrival  and 
another  before  the  evening  march,  to  be  put  in  the  water- 
bottles.    This  finished  the  water  we  were  carrying. 

The  strip  of  the  Elges  we  were  crossing  was  a  flat  red 
sand  desert,  studded  with  the  atrocious  thorn-bush 
described  before.  There  was  no  path,  but  the  way  was 
easy,  except  where  we  struck  patches  of  this  bush,  in 
which  case  we  had  to  make  detours  to  avoid  the  thorn. 
Although  the  way  we  took  was  flat  and  good  travelling, 
we  could  see  on  either  side  nasty  jagged  lava  escarpments. 
We  were  told  that  the  country  above  these,  and,  in  fact, 
most  of  the  Elges,  consists  of  lava  rocks,  over  which 
travelling  is  very  laborious,  as  loose,  jagged  blocks  and 
lumps  of  lava  He  about  in  confusion  everywhere. 

We  were  loaded  up  again  by  four  in  the  afternoon, 
and  moved  on  till  at  sunset  we  met  a  lava  wall  crossing 


120        THE  WATERLESS  ELGES 


our  front.  We  had  seen  no  life  whilst  traversing  the 
Elges,  except  a  dik-dik  or  two,  but  here,  under  the  wall 
of  the  escarpment,  were  some  gazelles,  of  which  I  shot 
two.  These  animals  are  curious  in  that  they  have  the 
markings  of  Sommering's  gazelle  (including  the  white 
rump  patch,  coming  well  up  into  the  back),  whilst  they 
carry  the  horns  of  the  northern  form  of  Grant's  gazelle. 
This  white  patch  showed  up  well  in  a  young  one  which 
the  men  found  in  a  bush  one  day  whilst  collecting 
firewood. 

The  Rendile  call  this  animal  haul,  which  is  like  the 
Somali  word  for  a  Sommering's  gazelle — aul.  The  two 
haul  were  slung  across  the  camels,  and  we  proceeded  till 
dark,  when  the  guide  suggested  that  we  should  halt  for 
the  night.  We  had  already  covered  the  two  and  a  half 
hours  he  had  told  us  was  the  distance  to  Laipera,  so  I 
thought  that  the  well  must  be  close  at  hand,  and  wanted 
to  push  on  and  reach  it  at  night,  as  we  had  no  water  left. 
The  guide  said  that  we  could  not  go  on.  I  asked  why, 
and  he  replied,  there  were  Hons  about.  I  told  him  not 
to  worry  about  that,  but  to  go  on,  and  he  refused  point- 
blank. 

I  could  not  see  any  reason  for  halting,  so  I  asked  if 
the  way  was  bad.  He  said  no  ;  it  was  just  like  that  we 
had  already  come,  except  that  now  there  was  a  path. 
When  we  had  struck  the  lava  escarpment,  we  found  a 
camel-road  passing  north  and  south  just  under  it,  and 
had  taken  this  northwards. 

I  then  asked  Abdi  what  he  thought  of  it,  as  the  guide 
had  given  no  reason  for  not  wishing  to  go  on.  Abdi 
replied  :  "  I  think  that  he  is  afraid  of  losing  his  way  in 
the  dark,  and  does  not  like  to  say  that  he  is  not  quite 
sure  of  the  country." 


THE  WATERLESS  ELGES  121 


So  we  had  to  bivouac  there,  but  as  we  were  all  fearfully 
thirsty,  and  had  nothing  to  drink,  I  said  that  we  would 
start  on  again  at  moonrise. 

The  guide  said  that  there  was  no  use  in  starting  then, 
as  we  should  arrive  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  for 
Laipera  was  quite  close  at  hand ;  in  fact,  that  if  there 
had  been  a  kraal  here,  the  water-camels  would  load  up, 
go  to  the  well,  draw  water,  and  be  back  before  the  other 
camels  left  the  zariba.  As  camels  go  out  about  8  or 
8.30,  this  meant  that  Laipera  could  not  be  more  than  an 
hour  distant,  and  the  guide  thought  it  would  be  quite 
early  enough  to  begin  loading  the  camels  at  sunrise. 

I  did  not  wish  to  subject  my  men  to  even  an  hour  of 
the  burning  sun,  as  already  by  seven  it  is  very  trying, 
especially  as  it  strikes  on  the  forehead.  Moreover,  we 
were  all  so  thirsty  that  we  did  not  feel  like  facing  even  the 
sunrise  before  we  had  had  something  to  drink. 

The  atmosphere  of  this  country  is  extraordinarily  dry, 
and  an  hour  or  two  after  one  has  drunk  one's  mouth  gets 
parched,  and  after  going  for  half  a  day  without  water 
all  the  body  seems  to  dry  up.  Our  condition  was  worse, 
as  the  last  water  we  had  drunk  had  been  brackish.  This 
being  the  case,  I  decided  to  start  loading  the  camels 
directly  the  moon  rose.  Although  there  was  meat  from 
the  gazelles  I  had  shot,  it  remained  untouched,  as  it  was, 
of  course,  impossible  to  eat  anything  in  our  present 
condition.  I  was  glad,  however,  to  think  that  there 
would  be  some  ready  for  the  men  when  we  reached 
water. 

While  we  were  bivouacking  here  in  the  Elges  there  was 
a  sound  as  of  distant  drumming.  Although  I  had  often 
heard  native  drumming,  I  had  never  heard  any  with 
quite  the  same  rhythm  or  sound.    The  latter  was  very 


122        THE  WATERLESS  ELGES 


marked,  being  in  two  keys.  One  had  plenty  of  time  to 
notice  this,  as  we  heard  it  at  intervals  through  the  night 
whenever  the  breeze  freshened  from  that  direction. 

I  heard  two  of  the  men  solemnly  discussing  whether 
this  was  caused  by  a  devil  or  not.  Their  conversation 
ran  something  as  follows  :  "  This  waterless,  uninhabited 
part  is  a  very  bad  country  ;  there  cannot  fail  to  be  bad 
devils  here."  "  Yes,  there  are  always  bad  devils  in  such 
places."  "  But  this  drumming — do  you  think  it  might 
be  a  Eendile  kraal  ?"  "  Who  would  live  in  a  place  like 
this  ?"  "  Oh,  the  B-endile  live  in  bad  places  ;  but  this  is 
not  like  any  human  drumming."  "  No  ;  no  one  but  a 
devil  could  play  a  drum  like  that." 

At  moonrise  the  night  watchman  woke  us,  and  by 
2.30  a.m.  all  the  camels  were  loaded,  and  we  proceeded. 
We  continued  till  dawn  without  seeing  any  sign  of  the 
well.  I  waited  for  the  men  to  close  up,  and  by  the  faint 
light  of  dawn  could  see  them  patiently  toiling  along  under 
their  loads  or  leading  the  camels,  without  exchanging  a 
word  with  each  other.  The  perfect  silence  of  the  generally 
noisy,  garrulous  porters  impressed  me  more  than  any- 
thing else  could  have  done  with  a  sense  of  their  sufferings. 

As  I  led  the  way  on  again,  accompanied  by  the  guide, 
a  rhino  came  trotting  towards  us.  If  he  had  passed  to  a 
flank,  I  should  have  left  him  alone,  but  he  was  coming 
directly  at  us,  and  I  did  not  want  my  tired  men  and 
camels  to  be  disturbed  by  having  to  bolt  out  of  his  path, 
so  I  fired  at  him  with  my  Mannlicher.  He  rushed  about 
twenty  yards,  hit  through  the  lungs,  and  then  stopped, 
when  another  shot  made  him  collapse  in  a  kneeling 
position. 

This  seemed  to  have  an  inspiriting  effect  on  the  men,  as 
they  immediately  began  to  talk.    When  they  came  up, 


THE  WATERLESS  ELGES  123 


the  rhino  was  still  just  breathing,  and  Tengeneza  called 
out  :  "  Bring  a  knife  to  halal  him." 

As  many  of  the  men  were  Muhammadans,  the  meat 
would  not  be  considered  lawful  unless  the  throat  was 
cut  whilst  the  animal  was  still  alive.  With  a  rhino  this 
is  generally  a  farce,  as  they  make  certain  that  he  is 
dead  first,  and  then  cut  his  throat  and  pretend  that  he  is 
still  alive. 

One  of  the  camel -men,  a  tall  Mnyamwezi  called  Maja- 
liwa,  came  up  with  a  knife,  thinking  that  it  was  dead  ; 
but  as  he  came  near,  the  rhino  gave  a  sigh,  and  he  ran 
back.  I  asked  what  he  was  waiting  for,  and  he  said  : 
"  It  is  still  alive."  I  said  :  "  Of  course  it  is.  Who  would 
think  of  halaling  an  animal  which  was  dead  ?" 

Some  of  the  other  men  called  out,  "  Go  on,  go  on  ! 
Don't  be  afraid,"  but  he  still  shrank  back.  Knowing 
that  the  animal  would  never  rise  again,  I  took  hold  of 
his  anterior  horn  with  both  hands,  and  said  :  "  Now  cut 
his  throat  while  I  hold  him  for  you."  He  came  up  and 
commenced  operations,  and  at  the  same  time  I  swung  the 
head  round  towards  him.  He  started  away  and  drew 
back  hurriedly. 

I  said :  "  Well,  what  is  the  matter  ?"  Majaliwa 
replied  :  "  Oh,  he  is  still  alive  1"  "Of  course  he  is,  but 
I  am  holding  him  for  you." 

Majaliwa  again  advanced,  and  again  I  moved  the 
head,  rather  less  this  time,  as  if  the  animal  had  grown 
weaker.  He  withdrew  again,  but  by  now  the  men 
standing  near  had  seen  through  my  little  joke,  and  said  : 
"  Go  on  !  Can't  you  see  that  the  bwana  is  playing  with 
you?"  Majaliwa  looked  rather  silly,  and  the  men  all 
laughed  at  him. 

When  the  throat  had  been  finally  cut,  we  left  the  rhino 


124        THE  WATERLESS  ELGES 


lying  there,  to  be  sent  for  later,  and  moved  on.  By 
this  time  the  sun  had  risen,  and  I  felt  very  glad  that  we 
had  not  taken  the  guide's  advice  and  started  now  instead 
of  earlier. 

However,  this  little  incident  bucked  up  the  men,  and 
they  were  even  friendly  disposed  towards  the  guide, 
whom  they  had  been  cursing  the  night  before.  He  had 
proved  himself  a  most  willing  youth,  and  worked  as  hard 
as  any  three  other  men  at  loading  the  camels,  rushing 
from  one  to  another  to  see  if  they  were  properly  tied  up, 
being  the  only  expert  in  this  matter  with  the  party. 
However,  in  time  and  distance  he  was  as  vague  and  in- 
accurate as  most  of  these  people,  a  circumstance  for  which 
he  could  hardly  be  blamed,  as  these  considerations,  so 
vital  to  us,  are  of  no  account  to  him  and  his  people. 

We  had  now  reached  a  lava  country,  but  the  way  was 
still  quite  good.  After  an  hour's  march  we  came  to  some 
lava  nullahs.  The  whole  country  looked  most  for- 
bidding ;  there  was  not  a  spot  of  green  anywhere,  and  it 
did  not  seem  possible  that  there  could  be  any  water  near. 

I  was  some  way  in  front  of  the  men,  when  suddenly  I 
came  over  a  lava  ridge,  and  saw  a  gladdening  sight,  which 
I  shall  always  remember.  Just  below  me  was  a  valley 
of  black  lava,  without  a  twig  or  leaf  of  any  kind  of 
vegetation.  At  the  bottom  of  this  valley  were  a  number 
of  loaded  camels  kneeling  in  a  semicircle,  while  about 
them  were  bustling  Eendile  women.  As  I  looked  closer, 
I  could  see  that  they  were  rushing  backwards  and  for- 
wards with  hans,  which  they  received  from  a  hole  in  the 
ground,  and  fastened  on  the  camels. 

This  hole  was  Laipera  Well,  bored  out  of  the  lava  rock, 
the  water  being  about  ten  feet  below  the  surface.  The 
curious  thing  is  that  this  is  not  the  lowest  part  of  the 


THE  WATERLESS  ELGES 


125 


valley,  as  from  this  place  it  descends  to  a  still  lower 
valley  and  a  sandy  watercourse.  Yet  this  well  is  the 
only  place  at  which  water  may  be  obtained  for  miles 
round. 

I  went  down  to  the  well  with  the  guide,  and,  after  having 
a  long  drink,  I  borrowed  some  of  the  Rendile  hans  and 
wooden  vessels  with  which  they  scoop  water  out  of  the 
well.  These  buckets  are  passed  up  full  of  water.  One 
man,  standing  at  the  bottom  and  filling  them,  hands 
them  to  another  standing  halfway  up  the  side,  and  he 
hands  them  out  to  the  women  waiting  for  them. 

I  placed  these  vessels  in  a  row  ready  for  the  men 
when  they  came  in,  so  that  they  should  have  no  delay 
in  getting  water.  The  guide  then  got  down  into  the  well, 
and  worked  away  busily,  filling  the  buckets  and  passing 
them  up  to  pour  into  two  wooden  troughs  lying  alongside, 
so  that  our  sheep  could  drink  when  they  came  in.  These 
sheep  are  used  to  going  without  water  for  long  stretches, 
and  ours  came  in  rather  tired,  but  quite  fit,  though  they 
had  not  drunk  since  Laisinfesha. 

Having  filled  these  troughs,  he  turned  to  and  filled 
buckets  for  the  Rendile  ladies,  and  altogether  made  him- 
self very  useful.  When  the  porters  came  in  they  seized 
up  the  hans  and  buckets,  some  of  them  holding  a  gallon 
or  more,  and  drained  them  off,  and  then  asked  for  more. 
I  tried  to  explain  to  them  what  a  bad  thing  it  was  to  drink 
so  much  when  suffering  from  extreme  thirst,  but  as  I 
myself  had  just  drunk  about  two  gallons,  I  did  not  feel 
that  I  was  arguing  on  very  firm  ground. 

The  Rendile  at  the  well  said  that  we  must  come  and 
camp  at  their  kraal,  which  was  only  just  over  the  rise  at 
the  other  side  of  the  valley,  a  stone's  throw  away.  As 
there  was  no  shade  here,  I  thought  it  rather  a  good 


126        THE  WATERLESS  ELGES 


idea.  We  should  then  get  milk,  and  perhaps  be  able  to 
buy  some  more  camels  ;  so  I  set  out  with  them,  and 
marched  for  a  mile  and  a  half.  They  then  pointed  out 
the  position  of  their  kraal  as  being  the  other  side  of  a 
ridge,  about  five  miles  away  ;  so  I  said,  "  No,  thank 
you  !"  and  returned  to  the  well. 

It  was  now  fifteen  days  since  we  had  camped  by 
water,  as  all  the  time  we  had  been  buying  camels  we  were 
either  sending  for  water  or  purchasing  it  from  the  Rendile. 
We  were  delighted  to  be  once  more  near  water,  and  not 
have  to  think  of  every  drop  we  expended. 

Now  I  could  have  my  clothes  washed  and  bathe,  have 
my  plates  washed,  and  a  variety  of  other  things  I  had 
had  to  forego. 

We  found  some  diminutive  acacias  not  far  from  the 
well,  which  had  at  first  been  concealed  from  us  by  the 
side  of  the  valley.  There  we  camped,  and  made  our- 
selves as  comfortable  as  the  sun  would  permit,  as  seen 
in  the  photograph  of  our  camp. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  BORANA 

We  had  not  pitched  camp  very  long  before  some  of  the 
Rendile  came  in  to  see  us.  We  learnt  from  them  that  it 
was  a  comparatively  short  distance  to  Koroli,  and  that 
there  were  Borana  at  that  place,  and  also  plenty  of 
water. 

The  Borana  are  new-comers  in  this  part  of  the  world, 
having  been  pushed  down  from  the  north.  From  what  I 
gathered,  there  is  no  love  between  the  Rendile  and 
Borana,  although  they  have  not  fought  now  for  many 
years.  The  Rendile  do  not  seem  much  of  hands  at 
fighting  now,  and  I  expect  the  stories  of  their  prowess 
in  old  days  were  rather  exaggerated.  All  the  old  fights 
described  by  natives  are  always  so  bloody,  and  their 
present  fights  so  bloodless,  that  it  is  hard  to  reconcile 
the  two. 

I  was  told  that  the  old  Loikop  Masai  once  invaded 
the  Borana  country,  and  reached  the  east  of  Lake 
Stefanie  before  being  driven  back.  It  was  easy  to  see 
that  the  Rendile  were  not  pleased  with  the  encroachment 
of  the  Borana. 

Before  we  broached  the  subject  of  camels,  we  had  to 
listen  to  a  long  and  voluble  tale  of  how  some  Somalis 
had  taken  away  some  of  their  baggage-camels.  As  they 
had  so  few  to  spare,  we  at  once  saw  that  it  was  hope- 

127 


128 


THE  BORANA 


less  to  try  and  get  any  here.  We  asked,  all  the  same, 
and  they  refused  point-blank,  but  said  that  we  were  sure 
to  get  all  we  wanted  from  the  Borana.  This  I  doubted, 
as  we  had  heard  the  tale  of  the  land  of  plenty  just  ahead 
too  often. 

We  spent  a  day  here  to  rest,  and  also  to  fetch  in  the 
rhino  meat.  The  first  night  I  took  observations  till 
1  a.m.,  and  during  the  day  took  some  more,  which  gave 
me  a  bad  sun  headache. 

We  started  away  from  Laipera  in  the  afternoon,  and 
bivouacked  in  the  road  just  after  sunset.  Our  guide 
trotted  out  his  story  of  Hons  in  the  way  again,  but  we 
said  that  we  had  heard  it  before.  We  rose  again  with 
the  moon,  and  proceeded  to  Koroli,  at  which  place  we 
arrived  shortly  after  sunrise.  The  lava  escarpment  which 
we  had  struck  at  our  last  bivouac  in  the  Elges  is  part  of 
an  enormous  long  lava  wall  which  runs  north  and  south, 
perhaps  a  hundred  or  more  miles  in  length. 

Below  it  is  a  sandy,  absolutely  flat  plain,  while  if  one 
climbs  this  escarpment,  only  about  one  hundred  to  two 
hundred  feet  in  height,  one  finds  oneself  on  a  plateau 
of  broken  lava.  This  lava  wall  had  receded  from  us 
as  we  approached  Laipera,  but  had  been  gradually 
drawing  nearer  to  us  on  our  march  till  we  met  it  at 
Koroli. 

Koroli  is  shown  on  some  maps  as  a  mountain,  but  there 
is  no  sign  of  even  a  hill  here,  except  this  escarpment, 
which  cannot  be  more  than  two  hundred  feet  high  any- 
where, and  is  the  edge  of  a  lava  plateau. 

Springs  exist  at  the  base  of  the  lava  wall  at  three 
different  spots,  and  from  here  flow  into  small  swamps 
a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  cliff,  and  then  the  water 
is  lost  in  the  sand  or  evaporated  by  the  sun. 


THE  BORANA 


120 


As  we  approached  Koroli  we  saw  a  long  line  of  stones 
laid  in  a  row  on  the  open  plain.  This,  the  guide  said, 
was  a  record  of  the  men  killed  in  an  ancient  fight  be- 
tween the  Turkana  and  Borana,  a  stone  being  placed  for 
every  man  killed. 

There  were  numberless  Borana  camels  being  watered 
at  Koroli.  The  herdsmen  were  dressed  like  Soinalis,  in 
dirty  white  robes,  and  carrying  a  single  spear  with  a 
broad  blade.  The  Borana  own  only  camels  and  sheep 
in  this  low  country  ;  the  cattle-owning  Borana  live  in 
the  higher  and  better-watered  escarpments  to  the  north- 
east. 

There  are  three  brackish  watering-places,  their  names 
being  "Big  Salt,"  "White  Water,"  and  "Young  Camel's 
Water  "  when  translated.  There  are  also  two  so-called 
fresh  wells.  The  sand  is  very  salt  here,  and  the  move- 
ment of  these  numbers  of  camels  rilled  the  air  and  wells 
with  salt-laden  dust.  I  tried  one  of  the  "fresh  "  wells, 
but  it  was  dirty,  brackish,  and  extremely  unpleasant. 
The  Borana,  however,  told  me  that  it  was  particularly 
good. 

West  of  this  spot  is  a  flat  sand  expanse  shining  white 
in  the  sun,  and  stretching  without  a  break,  and  apparently 
without  a  twig  of  any  vegetation,  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
reach.  North  of  the  watering-places  is  a  cape  or  head- 
land of  lava  projecting  into  the  sea  of  desert.  This  is  called 
by  the  Borana  Dufanka  marti,  meaning  "  the  big-eating 
camel  passed."  This  is  because  formerly  a  camel  ran 
away  here,  and  they  were  not  able  to  turn  him  back — a 
trivial  incident  to  be  handed  down  to  posterity  in  the 
name  of  a  place. 

It  was  rather  difficult  to  tell  the  expanse  of  the  small 
swamps  here,  owing  to  the  mirage.    They  were  probably 

9 


130 


THE  BORANA 


not  more  than  fifty  or  a  hundred  yards  long,  and  only 
a  few  inches  deep.  The  mirage  gave  the  effect  of  enor- 
mous swamps,  in  which  hundreds  of  camels  watering  were 
wading  knee-deep.  If  there  had  only  been  a  few  date- 
trees,  one  might  have  imagined  oneself  in  Arabia. 

Practically  all  the  water  at  which  we  had  camped 
since  passing  the  Lorogai  was  unmarked  on  the  map, 
but  water  was  known  to  occur  fairly  plentifully  in  the 
Samburr  country.  I  was  especially  pleased  to  arrive  at 
tins  spot,  also  at  Laipera,  as  all  the  country  we  were  in 
now  was  by  report  absolutely  waterless.  We  had  now 
traversed  about  eighty  miles  of  this  country,  and  found 
water  in  two  places  since  leaving  Arsim,  which  also  was 
a  watering-place  unlocated  before.  Moreover,  we  had 
news  from  the  Borana  that  there  was  still  water  ahead 
in  the  direction  in  which  we  intended  to  go. 

After  watching  the  camels  being  watered  for  a  few 
minutes,  we  continued  on  our  way.  Some  Borana  kraals 
were  situated  on  the  lava  plateau  above,  and  it  was 
there  I  wished  to  go.  To  reach  them  we  had  to  ascend 
the  escarpment  by  a  path,  which  was  nothing  but  a  mass 
of  loose  lava  blocks,  thrown  together  by  Nature.  On 
arriving  at  the  top,  we  had  a  very  arduous  trek  over  the 
lava  till,  at  noon,  we  reached  the  Borana  kraals. 

The  first  we  came  across  consisted  of  a  collection  of 
the  usual  camel-mat  huts  scattered  about  amongst  the 
rocks.  Circular  walls  had  been  built  here  and  there  of 
lava  blocks,  to  form  kraals  for  sheep  and  goats.  All 
round  was  a  sea  of  jagged  lumps  of  lava,  and  in  the  midst 
of  the  group  of  hovels  was  a  single  leafless  acacia,  to 
which  a  horse  was  tethered. 

A  more  desolate-looking  encampment  I  have  never 
seen,  and  it  seemed  very  hard  to  imagine  that  any  human 


THE  BORANA 


131 


beings  could  take  up  their  abode  in  such  a  spot,  far  less 
that  it  represented  to  those  that  dwelt  there  "  home." 
Not  only  was  it  their  home,  but  most  of  them  had  never 
known  any  better  or  brighter  spot. 

The  only  inhabitants  of  the  hovels  when  we  arrived 
were  a  few  old  women,  it  being  the  custom  of  these  people, 
as  well  as  the  Rendile  and  many  others,  to  send  all  their 
men  with  the  herds  when  they  go  to  water.  The  reason 
for  this  is  that  such  a  time  offers  a  favourable  oppor- 
tunity for  an  attack  by  another  tribe  wishing  to  loot 
stock. 

The  Borana  here  are  the  Gabba  Borana,  while  another 
section,  the  Algan,  inhabit  the  country  a  little  to  the  north. 
The  camels  are  grazed  amongst  the  lava  rocks,  as  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  grazing  for  camels  crops  up  in  the  inter- 
stices between  boulders.  On  the  plain  below  there  is  no 
grazing  to  be  had  at  all.  I  noticed  that  the  Borana 
camels  were  very  much  thinner  and  in  worse  condition 
than  those  of  the  Rendile.  These  camels  are  used  to 
travelling  about  on  loose  stones,  and  climbing  up  and 
down  lava  escarpments,  whereas  our  Rendile  camels  did 
not  like  this  work  in  the  least. 

There  was  no  flat  space  on  which  to  pitch  a  tent  by 
this  encampment,  so  we  tried  another  kraal  to  the  east, 
and  here  we  found  a  little  level  space.  There  was  no 
shade,  and  the  heat  and  glare  off  the  lava  were  very  trying. 

Some  old  men,  dressed  in  robes  and  turbans  of  mara- 
dufu,  came  to  call.  I  call  them  turbans,  although  they 
were  fastened  in  a  way  I  have  seen  no  turban  fastened 
before.  A  folded  strip  of  maradufu  was  wound  straight 
round  the  head,  and  looked  more  than  anything  like  the 
napkin  round  the  basin  of  a  steak  and  kidney  pudding. 
They  brought  with  them  a  present  of  milk  in  very  small 

9—2 


132 


THE  BORANA 


vessels,  and  did  not  seem  to  be,  on  the  whole,  very 
hospitable. 

The  chief  of  this  section  is  called  AH  Koti  or  Harroduchi. 
Abdi,  as  he  knew  Galla,  found  that  he  could  talk  quite 
well  with  them.  Their  language  is  almost  the  same  as 
Galla,  although  they  differ  from  these  people  in  some  of 
their  customs  and  names. 

A  curious  circumstance  is  that  there  are  Galla  on  the 
Tana  River,  in  British  East  Africa,  and  in  Southern 
Jubaland,  and  also  in  Abyssinia.  The  Galla  of  these 
two  places  are  almost  identical  in  language,  customs, 
and  names,  although  there  seems  to  be  no  connection 
between  them  at  the  present  day.  They  are  separated 
by  the  Borana,  a  people  with  slightly  different  customs, 
having  often  different  names  from  the  Galla,  as  also  by 
other  tribes,  such  as  Somali,  Kendile,  etc.,  who  have  quite 
distinct  customs  and  language. 

There  being  practically  no  trees  in  this  part  of  the 
country,  many  of  the  Borana  huts  consist  of  a  low,  circular 
wall  of  stone,  with  a  few  camel-mats  thrown  over  the  top. 
For  the  same  reason  they  do  not  have  wooden  vessels  for 
drawing  water  from  wells,  as  do  the  Rendile,  but  they  use 
strong  leather  buckets. 

Peculiar  little  hutches  of  stone  were  scattered  about  in 
the  encampment.  These  consist  of  a  few  stones  piled  in 
a  circle,  with  a  flat  boulder  on  the  top  for  a  roof.  These 
are  to  put  young  sheep  or  goats  in.  I  could  not  make  out 
what  the  roof  was  for,  as  there  was  no  rain,  and  even  if 
there  had  been,  they  would  not  have  troubled  to  make  a 
roof  for  sheep  or  goats.  Perhaps  it  was  to  prevent  them 
climbing  over  the  low  walls.  These  rings  of  stone  must 
last  long  after  the  encampment  is  left,  as  there  is  nothing 
to  disturb  them.    I  frequently  noted  sites  of  old  encamp- 


THE  BORANA 


133 


merits  by  such  stones  even  in  the  uninhabited  parts  I 
visited  later,  showing  that  some  people  must  have  been 
living  there  once. 

The  Rendile,  when  travelling  without  camels,  carry  their 
water-gourds.  I  did  not  ascertain  where  they  obtained 
these,  but  they  must  get  them  from  some  other  tribe,  as 
there  is  no  cultivation  of  any  sort  in  this  country.  The 
Somali  on  a  similar  journey  carry  theirs  either  in  skins 
(sibrar)  or  wooden  water-bottles  called  weisu.  The 
Borana,  instead  of  the  gourd  or  the  weisu,  make  for  them- 
selves neat  little  leather  water-bottles  with  stoppers.  I 
tried  to  persuade  the  Borana  here  to  sell  some  camels, 
but  as  they  declined  to  do  so,  I  had  to  go  without. 

Fodder  for  the  mule  was  a  serious  consideration  these 
days,  as  we  hardly  ever  saw  any  grass.  The  Masai  sais 
was  very  good  about  getting  what  he  could.  He  would 
grope  round  the  rocks  with  a  sickle,  and  obtain  a  certain 
amount.  When  grass  was  very  scarce,  I  used  to  eke  out 
the  mule's  food  with  a  handful  of  maize.  However,  his 
work  was  very  light  these  days,  as  I  hardly  ever  rode  him. 

During  all  the  long  and  waterless  marches  I  went  on 
foot,  as  I  was  afraid  that  it  would  have  a  dispiriting  effect 
on  the  men  to  see  me  forging  ahead  mounted.  It  was 
only  when  I  had  been  up  most  of  the  night  taking 
observations  that  I  used  to  ride  the  next  clay. 

I  asked  the  Borana  old  men  to  find  a  guide  for  me,  but 
they  went  off,  and  never  sent  one.  However,  a  youth 
came  into  camp,  and  when  he  heard  that  we  wanted  a 
guide,  volunteered  his  services  as  far  as  Maikona. 

He  subsequently  fetched  a  friend  to  come  with  him.  It 
is  very  seldom  that  one  man  will  consent  to  come  alone, 
the  last  Kendile  guide  we  had  being  the  only  exception  I 
remember  for  a  long  time. 


134 


THE  BORANA 


These  two  guides  turned  up  in  good  time  in  the  morning, 
and  proved  to  be  by  far  the  best  we  had  during  the  trip. 
First  of  all,  they  knew  the  country,  quite  an  unusual  thing 
in  a  guide  ;  they  also  acted  as  guides  the  whole  time  they 
were  with  us  by  walking  in  front  with  me.  They  usually 
lurk  behind,  and  disappear  if  one  comes  to  difficult 
country,  causing  the  whole  party  to  have  to  await  their 
reappearance. 

From  the  Borana  kraals  we  went  westwards  again,  and 
after  a  two-hours  trek  over  the  lava  we  came  to  the  edge  of 
the  escarpment,  and  saw  below  us  Maidahad,  a  pretty 
little  oasis  of  the  wild  palms  called  by  the  Swahili  mkoma. 
The  stones  in  the  background  of  the  photograph  form  the 
path.  If  the  reader  will  look  at  them  carefully,  it  will 
obviate  the  necessity  of  my  giving  an  inadequate  descrip- 
tion of  the  process  of  travelling  over  such  country. 

We  descended  to  the  oasis,  and  spent  the  middle  of  the 
day  there,  and  very  pleasant  it  was  under  the  shade  of 
the  palms,  while  the  lava  escarpment  behind  us  sheltered 
us  from  the  tearing  hot  wind  and  dust  we  had  had  to  put 
up  with  daily.  The  water  was  clear  and  sweet  from  one 
of  the  wells,  but  there  is  not  enough  water  here  for  the 
camels  of  the  Borana  ;  moreover,  the  salt  water  of  Koroli 
is  considered  better  for  them. 

While  sitting  here  and  watching  our  camels  I  had 
occasion  to  notice  how  very  daintily  they  drink,  as  they 
only  just  put  their  lips  to  the  water,  and  can  therefore 
drink  without  stirring  up  the  mud,  whilst  a  horse  would 
probably  put  both  feet  in  the  water,  and  dip  his  nose  much 
deeper.  Camels  make  a  fearful  business  of  being  watered, 
as  they  drink  slowly  and  at  intervals,  with  long  rests 
between. 

While  sitting  here  some  of  the  porters  cut  off  the  top 


THE  BORANA 


135 


of  a  palm,  and  brought  me  the  heart  to  try.  It  was  white 
and  rather  bitter.  An  extravagant  dish  on  the  coast 
amongst  Swahilis  is  the  heart  of  a  cocoa-nut-tree,  which  is 
obtained  by  cutting  off  the  top,  and  thereby  killing  the 
tree. 

While  we  waited  here  game  appeared  strolling  towards 
the  oasis — oryx,  haul,  Grevy 's  zebra,  and  ostrich — evidently 
waiting  to  drink.  When  they  saw  us  they  stared  for  a 
while,  and  then  moved  off.  They  awaited  our  departure, 
full  of  impatience,  as  they  returned  again  and  again  to  look 
at  us.  I  felt  sorry  for  them,  but  really  could  not  oblige 
them  by  going  to  sit  on  the  bare,  sun-baked  plain,  so  they 
had  to  wait  till  we  moved  off  in  the  afternoon.  We  filled 
up  the  tanks,  and  marched  on  till  sunset,  when  we 
bivouacked  near  an  old  zariba,  which  had  been  but  lately 
deserted,  as  we  could  see  by  the  birds  flying  round. 

Just  after  we  had  composed  ourselves  to  sleep  a  few 
spots  of  rain  fell,  and  so  I  had  to  turn  everybody  out  to 
stack  the  loads  and  instruments  under  waterproof -sheets. 
It  proved  a  false  alarm,  however,  for  after  a  few  spots  it 
cleared  up.  I  had  just  got  to  sleep  again  when  the  night- 
watchman  awoke  me  to  say  that  there  was  a  very  bad 
animal  prowling  round,  and  at  the  same  time  Abdi  called 
out  :  "  Come  quickly,  as  it  is  very  close." 

I  seized  my  rifle,  and  hurried  to  the  spot,  and  could  just 
distinguish  a  form  slowly  approaching  in  the  dark  a  step 
or  two  at  a  time.  After  every  two  or  three  steps  it  halted. 
Abdi  whispered  to  me,  "It  is  indeed  a  lion,"  but  I  was 
not  satisfied,  as  everything  appears  so  enormous  in  the 
dark  that  a  Hon  would  have  looked  huge.  This  only 
seemed  the  size  of  a  leopard,  and  so  was  probably  smaller. 

As  it  advanced  again  I  decided  that  it  was  not  a  leopard, 
as  it  did  not  move  in  a  catlike  way,  nor  did  it  have  the 


136 


THE  BORANA 


movement  of  a  hyena.  What  could  it  be,  then,  that  was 
advancing  on  us  so  fearlessly  ?  I  thought  over  all  the 
animals,  bad  and  otherwise,  it  could  be.  It  was  not  a 
wolf,  as  there  were  none  here ;  not  a  hunting-dog,  as  one 
would  not  be  alone ;  nor  a  jackal,  as  it  was  too  large. 

Abdi  said,  "  Shoot,  shoot,  bwana  ;  it  is  now  amongst  the 
men  ";  but  still  I  did  not  shoot,  as  I  did  not  want  it  to  be 
said  afterwards  that  I  had  got  frightened,  and  shot  at 
some  ridiculous  animal  of  whom  no  one  would  be  afraid. 
The  figure  then  began  moving  slowly  round  our  camp, 
and  passing  quite  close  to  some  of  the  sleeping  men.  I 
moved  also,  and  suddenly  by  the  light  of  the  fire  saw 
what  it  was.  It  was  only  a  dog  which  had  got  left  behind 
when  the  inhabitants  vacated  the  kraal  near  which  we 
were  encamped.  Now  the  unfortunate  animal  was 
sniffing  round  in  the  hopes  of  finding  something  to  eat. 

I  retired  to  sleep  again,  saying  to  Abdi  :  "  Don't  wake 
me  up  every  time  you  see  a  dog,  will  you  V  Abdi  said 
he  was  very  sorry,  so  I  consoled  him  with  :  "  Quite  right? 
I  am  glad  ;  you  should  always  wake  me  up  if  there  is 
anything  about  at  night  of  which  you  are  uncertain,  and 
I  also  really  thought  it  was  a  bad  animal  till  I  saw  it 
move." 

The  moon  rose  late  now,  so  that  it  was  not  till  four  that 
we  could  load  the  camels.  Whilst  this  operation  was  in 
progress,  I  heard  a  breathing  beside  me.  Thinking  that 
it  was  Narok,  I  was  just  stooping  down  to  pat  her,  when 
I  thought  better  of  it,  and  swung  round  the  lamp  in  my 
other  hand,  just  in  time  to  see  a  large  brown  African  cobra 
gliding  away. 

We  reached  Maikona  early  in  the  morning.  This  place 
consists  of  a  collection  of  wells  in  a  large  patch  of  the  bush, 
called  in  Swahili  msiiaki.    This  is  a  low-growing,  widely- 


THE  BORANA 


137 


spreading  bush,  which  grows  in  circular  clumps  of  ten  or 
twenty  yards  in  diameter.  The  coast  natives  and  Arabs 
use  sticks  cut  from  this  shrub  with  which  to  clean  their 
teeth. 

The  wells  and  patches  of  msuahi  bush  were  situated  on 
the  plain  in  a  bay  of  the  lava  escarpment.  The  lava  wall 
circled  round  this  spot,  and  then  trended  westwards  to  a 
cape  called  Buliashe,  at  which  spot  it  turned  northwards 
again.  The  ground  at  Maikona  was  covered  with  loose 
powder-dust,  which  made  the  place  most  uncomfortable 
to  remain  in  during  the  day  whilst  the  wind  was  at  its 
height. 

The  guides  wanted  to  return  from  here,  but  I  was  loath 
to  let  them  go,  as  they  had  been  able  to  give  me  very 
fairly  accurate  estimates  of  the  length  of  each  day's  march, 
and  much  information  about  the  country.  To  get  other 
guides,  it  would  have  been  necessary  to  delay  our  march 
and  trek  up  the  escarpment,  where  I  learnt  there  were 
some  kraals  of  the  Algana  Borana. 

I  therefore  tried  to  persuade  them  to  go  on  with  me, 
and  they  consented  under  condition  that  they  got  plenty 
of  meat,  as  they  said  that  they  did  not  like  their  present 
fare  of  a  little  mutton,  and  some  beans  and  flour.  The 
latter  they  were,  of  course,  unused  to,  and  thought  very 
poor  food.  I  promised  to  do  my  best,  and  so  took  my 
rifle  and  went  out  into  the  bush,  and  soon  managed  to 
shoot  three  gazelle  ;  half  of  one  I  gave  them,  while  the  rest 
I  gave  to  the  porters. 

When  the  wind  died  down  in  the  evening,  it  was  pleasant 
to  get  the  dust  washed  out  of  one's  eyes,  ears,  and  nose, 
and  settle  down  to  a  meal  which  was  not  covered  with  grit. 
After  dinner  the  porters  sat  chatting  by  the  fires,  and 
everybody  was  cheery,  as  they  had  some  meat  to  eat,  and 


138 


THE  BORANA 


we  had  not  felt  the  want  of  wat-er  since  leaving  Laipera, 
and  had  quite  recovered  from  the  exhaustion  of  the  thirst 
we  had  suffered  while  crossing  the  Elges. 

Omari  propounded  the  following  puzzle  during  the 
evening  : 

The  Mwalim  and  the  Orange. 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  Sultan.  Now  this  Sultan 
became  very  ill,  and  all  the  arts  of  the  medicine-men 
were  of  little  avail,  till  one  day  there  came  forth  a  sage 
skilled  in  the  seeing  of  visions  and  in  the  preparation  of 
potions  and  charms.  Now  this  sage  spake,  and  said  that 
on  a  certain  hill  there  was  an  orange-tree,  and  it  was  of  an 
orange  of  this  tree  that  the  only  medicine  could  be  brewed 
which  could  cure  the  Sultan's  illness.  So  the  Wazir  set 
out  with  his  slaves,  and  went  to  the  hill  in  question,  and 
there  he  found  one  orange-tree  growing  in  a  rocky  crevice, 
and  on  this  tree  was  one  orange. 

He  sent  one  of  his  slaves  to  climb  the  tree  to  gather 
the  orange.  When  he  reached  the  branch  on  which  the 
orange  was  growing,  he  shook  it,  and  the  orange  fell 
down.  The  Wazir  went  to  pick  it  up,  but  it  rolled  away 
from  him  into  a  small  round  hole  in  the  rock,  and  out  of 
sight.  When  he  came  to  probe  the  hole,  he  found  that 
it  was  many  yards  deep  ;  nor  could  he  see  the  bottom, 
or  where  the  orange  had  gone. 

Then  he  was  much  afeared,  and  said  to  himself  : 
"  Surely  my  life  will  be  forfeit  if  I  return  without  the 
orange." 

Now  on  that  hill  dwelt  an  old  mivalim,  one  skilled  in 
learning  and  theology.  So  the  Wazir  betook  himself  to 
the  mwalim,  and  asked  him  to  devise  some  stratagem 
by  which  to  extricate  the  orange.    The  mwalim,  after 


THE  BORANA 


139 


great  deliberation,  bethought  himself  of  a  stratagem. 
So  they  went  together  to  the  place,  and  by  dint  of  the 
mwalim' s  device  they  extricated  the  orange. 

Then  was  the  Wazir  very  glad,  and  he  took  it  to  the 
sage,  who  forthwith  brewed  medicine  of  it  and  cured 
the  Sultan.  So  the  Sultan,  on  being  restored  to  health, 
bestowed  great  favours  on  his  Wazir,  and  the  latter,  in 
the  hour  of  his  prosperity,  did  not  forget  the  mwalim 
who  had  helped  him  in  his  need,  but  exalted  him  to  a  high 
place  under  him. 

Question. — What  was  the  device  of  which  the  mwalim 
bethought  himself  ? 

Answer. — He  and  the  Wazir  and  his  slaves  filled  the 
hole  with  water,  till  finally  the  orange  floated  to  the  top, 
and  was  taken  out. 

This  reminded  me  of  another  puzzle  I  had  lately  heard 
at  Lamu,  which  I  will  here  repeat. 

An  Arab  Puzzle. 

Two  poor  men,  Hassan  and  Abdullah,  were  sitting 
beside  the  road.  Now  Hassan  had  five  loaves  of  bread, 
and  Abdullah  had  three  loaves.  They  agreed  to  feed 
together,  so  Hassan  crumbled  up  his  five  loaves,  and 
Abdullah  crumbled  up  his  three  loaves.  As  they  were 
dry,  they  mixed  all  the  eight  crumbled  loaves  together, 
added  water  to  them,  and  cooked  them. 

They  had  just  finished  cooking  them,  and  were  about 
to  commence  to  eat  them,  when  there  rode  past  the  son 
of  a  rich  merchant.  Now  he  was  returning  from  hunting, 
and  was  very  hungry.  When  he  saw  the  poor  men  sitting 
down,  just  about  to  feed,  he  saluted  them,  and  said  : 


140 


THE  BORANA 


"  Peace  be  with  ye."  They  answered  :  "  And  with  you 
be  peace.    Draw  nigh,  0  our  master." 

The  merchant's  son  said  :  "I  feel  a  great  hunger.  May 
I  share  your  repast  ?"  They  said  unto  him  :  "  Eat, 
lord."  So  they  made  way  for  him,  and  he  sat  down. 
Then  he  said  :  "  By  Allah,  I  will  not  eat  unless  we  all  eat 
together  !" 

So  the  poor  men  said  :  "  The  lord's  graciousness  to 
his  slaves  is  only  exceeded  by  his  generosity."  So  they 
all  sat  down  and  ate  of  the  food,  each  man  eating  his  fair 
portion  of  the  meal.  When  it  was  finished,  the  merchant's 
son  arose  to  go  his  way.  He  opened  his  wallet,  and, 
taking  forth  eight  golden  dinars,  he  placed  them  in  the 
plate,  and  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  away. 

Now  Hassan  took  up  the  eight  dinars,  and  he  gave 
three  to  Abdullah,  and  five  he  kept  himself.  Abdullah 
said  to  Hassan  :  "  I  do  not  agree  at  all,  for  the  stranger 
gave  the  eight  dinars  to  us  both  ;  therefore  we  should 
divide  them  equally,  each  man  taking  four."  But 
Hassan  said  :  "  Did  I  not  provide  five  loaves,  whereas 
you  only  provided  three  ?  Therefore,  I  take  five  dinars, 
and  you  take  only  three." 

But  Abdullah  would  not  agree,  and  claimed  a  half -share, 
for  he  said  that  they  had  both  invited  the  merchant's 
son,  and  the  merchant's  son  had  given  the  eight  dinars 
between  them,  and  therefore  that  they  must  be  divided 
equally.  Hassan  refused,  so  Abdullah  went  to  the  kadhi 
(judge),  and  accused  Hassan  before  him. 

Now  the  kadhi  was  a  man  well  versed  in  the  laws  of 
equity  and  the  Sheria  (Muhammadan  law).  So  he  searched 
his  books  and  pondered  over  the  case  for  two  days.  On 
the  third  day  he  gave  judgment.  How  did  he  settle  the 
case  ? 


THE  BORANA 


141 


Answer. — The  kadhi  gave  seven  dinars  to  Hassan,  and 
to  Abdullah  he  only  gave  one.  For  each  man  had  eaten 
a  third  of  the  eight  loaves,  which  equals  two  and  two- 
thirds  of  a  loaf.  The  merchant's  son  gave  the  eight  dinars 
for  his  share  only.  Abdullah  ate  two  and  two-thirds  of 
his  own  three  loaves,  and  thus  only  contributed  one- 
third  to  the  stranger.  Thus  Hassan  contributed  two 
and  one-third  loaves  of  the  stranger's  portion.  So  the 
dinars  must  be  divided  in  the  proportion  seven-thirds  to 
one-third,  or  seven  to  one. 

After  having  heard  Omari's  story,  and  a  few  others  too 
indifferent  to  repeat,  the  natives  turned  in,  and  I  was 
left  to  write  up  my  notes.  Meanwhile  Narok  prowled 
about,  returning  at  intervals  to  see  how  I  was  getting 
on,  and  if  it  was  yet  time  to  turn  into  the  tent. 


CHAPTER  X 


MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES 

We  were  glad  to  leave  the  dust-laden  air  of  Maikona. 
The  next  water-hole,  according  to  the  guides,  was  called 
Gamra.  The  caravan  proceeded  to  this  place,  while  I 
ascended  the  escarpment  north  of  Maikona,  and  then 
followed  on  their  track. 

I  came  up  with  them  in  a  few  hours,  resting  beside  a 
pool  of  water  which  welled  out  of  the  desert.  This  was 
surrounded  by  msuaki  bushes,  while  in  the  centre  of  the 
shallow  pool  on  an  island  was  a  construction  of  dead 
branches.  I  asked  the  guides  what  this  was,  and  they 
said  that  Abyssinian  hunters  had  been  down  here,  and 
had  made  this  little  shelter  in  which  to  await  animals 
drinking  at  night.  Heaps  of  bones  lying  all  round  the 
oasis  testified  to  the  fact  that  they  had  in  this  way  per- 
formed great  execution. 

We  drew  our  drinking-water  from  two  little  wells  just 
above  the  pool,  and  found  it  sweet  and  good — a  pleasant 
change  for  us,  as  the  Maikona  water  was  brackish. 
Amongst  the  bones  lying  round  the  oasis  we  noticed 
those  of  several  rhinoceroses  and  oryx,  and  also  a  Hon 
and  ostrich. 

A  nice  shady  place  had  been  prepared  for  me  to  sit 
in  by  cutting  away  some  of  the  under  branches  and  making 
an  arbour  in  a  thick  msuaki  clump. 

142 


MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES  143 


In  the  afternoon  we  moved  off  again,  and  after  round- 
ing Buliashe,  the  cape  of  lava  mentioned  before,  we 
followed  along  the  escarpment  northwards.  I  tried  to 
take  observations  from  this  point,  but,  as  had  often 
been  the  case  before,  I  was  defeated  by  the  mist,  dust, 
and  haze. 

We  trekked  on  again  till  at  dusk  we  came  upon  a 
large  patch  of  desert,  encrusted  with  a  thick  layer  of  salt 
about  half  an  inch  in  depth.  This  was  practically  pure 
salt,  and  lay  on  the  ground  like  thin  ice,  while  our  feet 
broke  through  it  as  we  walked.  This  lone  country  must, 
I  suppose,  at  some  time  have  been  under  water  strongly 
impregnated  with  salt,  which  was  deposited  on  evapora- 
tion. We  bivouacked  for  the  night  amidst  the  salt,  but 
were  unable  to  light  a  fire,  as  there  was  no  firewood  or 
anything  combustible. 

Next  morning  we  moved  on,  and  soon  came  to  a  bay 
in  the  lava  escarpment,  sheltering  a  thick  forest  of 
mkoma  palms,  called  Karauwi.  This  forest  was  dense 
near  the  head  of  the  bay,  growing  sparser  near  its  mouth. 
We  passed  through  the  less  dense  parts  to  the  other  side, 
where  the  guides  said  that  we  should  find  water. 

The  three-day-old  spoor  of  an  enormous  bull  elephant 
led  into  the  recesses  of  the  mkoma,  he  evidently  having 
come  at  night  to  drink.  Presently  we  met  the  same  spoor 
coming  out  again,  and  heading  straight  away  towards 
some  hills  under  Mount  Kulal,  called  Asi  or  Esie,  which 
we  could  see  to  our  west. 

I  should  have  dearly  liked  to  have  been  able  to  stop 
and  hunt  this  old  fellow,  for  I  could  pretty  well  tell  from 
the  size  of  the  spoor  that  he  must  be  a  big  tusker.  How- 
ever, I  dared  not  delay  on  the  way,  as  I  was  very  anxious 
about  the  men's  food,  more  especially  since  we  had 


144    MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES 


heard  that  the  Reshiat  had  fled  from  their  former 
villages.  Already  the  men  were  on  half -rations  whenever 
I  could  obtain  sufficient  meat  to  make  up  for  short 
rations. 

As  we  passed  through  the  palms  we  came  on  little 
patches  of  real  green  grass,  and  on  this  buffalo  had  been 
grazing.  The  guides  said  that  there  were  a  few  old  buf- 
faloes who  lived  in  the  dense  recesses  of  the  palms,  and 
only  came  out  here  to  graze  at  night.  They  were  bad-tem- 
pered old  fellows,  and  so  the  Abyssinian  hunters  had 
given  them  a  wide  berth.  After  passing  through  several 
of  these  little  green  grass  glades,  we  came  to  the  stream 
from  which  they  got  their  moisture.  It  rose  in  the  dense 
bush,  opened  out  here,  and  then  was  quickly  lost  in  the 
arid  desert  beyond. 

We  found  a  beautiful  shady  camp  on  the  green  grass 
at  the  water's  edge,  and  then  discovered  that  the  stream 
was  a  hot  one. 

I  meant  to  have  had  a  go  at  the  buffaloes  that  day, 
but  as  I  had  only  had  one  hour's  sleep  the  night  before, 
and  was  feeling  very  upset  from  the  brackish  waters  we 
had  been  drinking,  I  thought  that  I  would  take  a  nap 
in  this  delightful  spot.  The  result  was  that  I  only  awoke 
in  time  to  take  my  observations  before  the  sun  set. 

This  peaceful  spot  was  the  most  pleasant  camp  we  had 
had  since  leaving  Rumuruti.  There  was  beautiful  shade 
from  the  palms,  and  we  were  protected  from  wind  and 
dust,  whilst  the  green  was  most  soothing  to  our  eyes, 
tired  out  with  days  and  days  of  the  white  glare  of  the 
desert. 

Next  morning  we  started  loading  the  camels  at  4.30, 
and  as  dawn  broke  I  determined  to  visit  a  few  of  the 
glades,  on  the  off-chance  of  seeing  a  buffalo.    It  seemed 


MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES  145 


a  fairly  hopeless  chance,  as  the  camels  had  already  been 
roaring  over  being  loaded  for  nearly  an  hour,  and  the  men 
shouting  and  bustling  about. 

I  took  Tengeneza,  and  we  proceeded  cautiously  to 
investigate  some  of  the  glades.  As  we  were  proceeding 
in  this  way,  Tengeneza,  who  was  behind  me,  suddenly 
stopped.  His  eyes  had  been  sharper  than  mine.  As  he 
said  afterwards,  he  saw  something  dark  amongst  the 
bushes. 

I  did  not  notice,  however,  that  he  had  stopped,  and 
went  on  another  five  yards,  when  I  suddenly  saw  the 
enormous  hind-quarters  of  a  buffalo  not  fifteen  yards 
distant.  His  head  and  chest  were  concealed  by  a  low 
mJcoma,  and  as  he  was  quite  close  to  this,  he  might  even 
now  have  seen  me  through  it,  although  I  could  not  see 
his  head.  -There  was  no  chance  of  getting  a  clear  shot,  and 
in  another  second  he  might  have  the  alarm,  so  I  decided 
quickly  to  shoot.  I  had  a  double  *450  in  my  hand,  and, 
guessing  where  his  chest  would  be,  took  a  step  forward  to 
get  clear  of  a  branch  in  front,  and,  aiming  for  the  bush, 
fired. 

He  plunged  into  the  undergrowth  and  disappeared  in 
a  second,  and  the  next  moment  the  bush  two  yards  to 
my  right  seemed  to  open,  and  with  a  bellow  he  appeared. 
I  had  no  time  to  think  what  to  do,  or  to  raise  the  rifle  to 
my  shoulder,  but  jabbed  it  against  his  chest,  pulling  the 
trigger  of  the  second  barrel.  At  the  same  instant  I 
stepped  to  one  side,  and  he  swept  past,  pushing  the 
rifle  aside.  The  next  moment  we  heard  him  groaning 
and  struggling  on  the  ground  twenty  yards  behind  us. 
Tengeneza  had  been  but  five  yards  away  on  the  other 
side,  and  the  beast  had  passed  between  us,  but  he  had 
stood  his  ground  without  moving.    This  gave  me  another 

10 


146    MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES 


proof,  had  any  been  required,  of  the  stanchness  of  my 
gun-bearer. 

We  pushed  through  the  palms  to  where  we  heard  him 
struggling  on  the  ground,  and  another  shot  despatched 
him.  He  was  a  fine  bull,  with  nasty  sharp  horns,  well 
curved. 

We  had  to  delay  starting,  so  as  to  cut  up  the  meat, 
but  that  was  of  little  importance,  as  the  next  water- 
hole  was  only  about  seven  miles  on.  Buffalo  meat  is 
much  appreciated  by  the  men,  and  they  were  able  to  fill 
themselves  for  several  days  on  this  large  addition  to  our 
food  stores. 

Having  transferred  the  meat  to  the  camels,  we  moved 
on,  and  after  one  and  a  half  hours  came  to  a  bay  in  the 
lava  wall,  in  which  I  subsequently  found  a  hot  stream 
called  Burgi.  This  and  Karauwi  are  not  visited  much 
by  the  Borana. 

Passing  Burgi,  we  came  to  another  bay  of  mhoma 
palms  and  msuahi  bush,  and  saw  camels  being  driven 
from  the  escarpment  out  on  to  the  plains.  This  was 
Kalacha,  in  which  place  there  are  several  wells  and  a  small 
pool.  The  camels  belonged  to  the  Borana,  and  were 
going  to  drink  at  a  salt  oasis  a  mile  or  two  out  on  the 
plains.  By  game  tracks  on  our  path  I  had  ascertained 
that  we  had  passed  several  swamps  on  our  way  since 
Maidahad,  but  our  guides  had  told  us  that  the  water 
was  undrinkable  for  human  beings,  indicating  this  by 
drawing  a  finger  across  the  throat. 

Our  guides  wanted  to  return  from  here,  saying  that 
they  were  now  far  from  home,  and  did  not  know  the  way 
in  front.  We  learnt  from  a  few  Borana  watering  their 
flocks  that  there  were  some  kraals  on  the  escarpment 
five  hours  distant. 


MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES  147 


Abdi  went  off  to  see  the  chief  of  these  kraals  and  obtain 
guides,  and  also  to  purchase  hans,  if  possible,  as  the 
Rendile  had  only  sold  us  their  very  old  and  rotten  ones, 
all  of  which,  save  one,  had  cracked  and  broken  on  the 
way. 

Whilst  Abdi  was  away,  I  occupied  the  time  investi- 
gating Burgi  and  the  salt  oasis  at  which  the  camels  drink. 
I  also  started  studying  the  Amharic  characters,  as  it  was 
necessary  that  I  should  begin  to  know  something  of  this 
language  before  reaching  Abyssinia. 

Abdi,  after  being  one  day  away,  returned  with  a  chief, 
two  guides,  and  some  old  men,  but  he  had  been  unable  to 
buy  any  hans.  I  then  made  presents  to  our  old  guides, 
and  also  gave  them  some  of  our  female  goats  and  sheep. 

The  Borana  were  very  emphatic  at  first  that  we  could 
not  go  on  any  farther  ;  finally,  we  elicited  the  information 
that  if  one  went  on  northwards,  we  could  camp  at  the 
following  places  : 

First  day  :  Ragi. 
Second  day  :  Hirimat. 

Third  day  :  Naga  Laga.  Here  we  should  turn  up  a 
dry  river-bed,  which  breaks  the  fine  of  escarpment, 
and  proceed  to 

Fourth  day  :  Balessa  (in  Had  watercourse). 

Fifth  day  :  Had  watercourse. 

Sixth  day  :  El  Had. 

At  El  Had  was,  they  said,  a  deep  well.  This  made  six 
days  without  water— a  much  greater  distance  than  we 
could  traverse. 

Then  an  old  man  said  that  we  could  get  water  at 
Balessa  by  digging.  There  used  to  be  a  well  there,  but 
now  it  was  filled  in  with  sand.     This  sounded  more 

10—2 


148    MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES 


hopeful,  so  I  asked  about  it,  and  he  added,  as  an  after- 
thought :  "  You  will  have  to  put  eight  men  into  the 
well." 

Abdi  was  at  a  loss  to  understand  what  he  meant,  but, 
after  much  questioning,  it  transpired  that  a  well  must  be 
dug  deep  enough  to  permit  of  eight  men  one  above  the 
other  passing  up  the  water.  I  asked  how  deep  the  well 
must  be,  and  he  pointed  to  a  tree  one  hundred  yards  away, 
and  said  :  "  As  deep  as  from  here  to  that  tree."  Imagine 
one  arriving  thirsty  after  a  four-days  march,  and  having 
to  dig  a  well  three  hundred  feet  deep  in  sand  before  being 
able  to  get  water.  The  chief  had  the  sense  to  tell  the 
old  man  that  he  was  talking  rot,  and  that  it  would  take 
fifty  or  a  hundred  men  a  month  to  dig  the  well. 

The  same  genial  old  man  said  that  we  did  not  need  a 
guide  to  go  to  El  Had  ;  we  should  find  it  all  right  if  we 
just  trekked  on.  I  asked  about  Lake  Rudolf,  but  none 
of  them  had  heard  of  it,  except  the  chief,  who  said  that 
his  father  had  told  him  that  once  he  had  been  a  long  way 
westwards  on  a  raiding  expedition,  and  reached  a  big 
lake  called  Ganal. 

I  next  tried  to  elicit  information  concerning  the  country 
westwards,  but  without  success.  At  last  they  told  me 
that  seven  years  ago  they  had  lived  at  a  place  three  days 
to  the  north-west,  called  Horr,  but  they  had  been  driven 
from  there  by  the  Turkana.  There  was  water  at  Horr,  and 
it  could  be  reached  in  two  very  long  days  or  three  short 
days.  I  asked  how  far  it  was  from  Horr  to  El  Had,  and 
they  said  it  was  three  days  also. 

Thinking  that  I  had  solved  the  problem  of  how  to 
proceed  northwards,  I  decided  to  go  to  that  place.  The 
conversation  had  been  very  boring  at  first,  as  to  every 
direction  I  suggested  the  Borana  shook  their  heads,  and 


MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES  149 


replied,  debitch.  At  last  I  asked  Abdi  what  was  this 
debitch  they  were  always  talking  about,  and  he  told  me 
it  meant  a  waterless  tract. 

The  new  guides,  having  seen  me  giving  presents  to  the 
old  ones,  said  that  they  were  very  pleased  to  come  with 
me  ;  but  if  I  intended  bestowing  on  them  any  sheep  for 
their  services,  I  had  better  give  them  to  them  now,  as 
they  would  suffer  by  being  taken  a  hard  march  to  Horr 
and  El  Had  and  then  back  again.  I  did  not  like  paying 
anything  in  advance,  before  they  had  proved  their 
capacity,  so  I  gave  some  sheep  to  the  chief,  and  said  that 
I  would  send  him  back  some  maradufu  and  other  presents 
by  the  guides,  and  that  then  he  was  to  give  them  the 
sheep.  If  they  returned  without  presents  for  him,  he 
would  know  that  they  had  run  away  or  behaved  badly, 
and  that  in  that  case  he  must  keep  the  sheep  for  himself. 

We  started  away  from  Kalacha  in  the  afternoon,  and 
soon  after  leaving  met  with  thick  powdery  dust,  in  which 
the  feet  sank  in  six  or  eight  inches — a  circumstance  which 
made  marching  very  slow  and  tiring  for  the  porters.  I 
was  also  confronted  by  another  problem,  which  worried 
me  almost  daily,  and  that  was  how  to  protect  one's 
forehead  and  face  from  a  setting  sun  with  a  gale  blowing 
from  the  east.  To  gain  any  measure  of  protection,  one 
must  pull  one's  hat  right  down  over  one's  eyes,  and  in 
this  position  a  hat  refuses  to  stop  on  when  a  strong  wind 
is  blowing  from  behind.  The  result  is  that  one  gets  the 
sun  in  one's  eyes,  and  consequent  sun  headaches. 

We  trekked  from  two  o'clock  to  nine,  and  then  a  shot 
was  fired  from  behind,  and  we  halted  to  see  what  was 
the  matter.  One  of  the  men  came  up  to  say  that  a  porter 
had  succumbed  from  thirst.  I  asked  what  had  hap- 
pened ;  they  replied  that  he  had  suddenly  fallen  down  in 


150    MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES 


a  faint,  and  when  they  looked  at  his  water-bottle,  they 
found  it  empty,  so  they  had  not  been  able  to  do  anything 
for  him.  I  asked  why  they  had  not  given  him  some  of 
the  water  out  of  their  bottles,  and  they  said  that  all 
theirs  was  finished  too. 

It  is  useless  to  try  and  teach  them  providence,  as  an 
hour  or  two  after  leaving  water,  directly  they  feel  a  little 
dry,  they  drink  up  the  contents  of  their  water-bottles.  I 
then  sent  back  my  water-bottle  to  him,  and  presently  he 
was  brought  in,  evidently  having  had  a  touch  of  sun.  I 
made  it  a  point  never  to  touch  the  water  in  my  bottle  till 
the  next  ration  was  served  out,  when  I  would  drink  it,  and 
put  the  new  water  in  my  bottle.  On  occasions,  however, 
on  the  march,  when  Narok  was  very  done,  I  had  to  give 
her  a  little  out  of  my  bottle,  as  she  could  not  go  for  many 
hours  in  the  sun  without  suffering  extreme  exhaustion. 

This  episode  curtailed  our  march  that  day.  On  the 
next  morning  we  started  before  sunrise,  and,  after  crossing 
another  tract  of  loose,  soft  dust,  steering  for  an  isolated 
little  hill  called  Daban  Dabli,  we  arrived  at  a  long  line 
of  msuaki  bush.  Beyond  this  we  struck  a  country  of 
sandhills,  amidst  which  our  guides  wandered  about, 
looking  for  Horr.  After  an  ineffectual  search,  I  saw  a 
good  many  birds  hovering  about,  and,  steering  for  them, 
reached  a  broad,  shallow  valley  in  the  sandhills.  By  this 
means  I  found  a  small  salt  swamp,  and  when  the  guides 
saw  this,  they  recognized  it,  and  said  that  the  fresh- water 
sokota  was  close  by. 

One  of  them  found  an  ostrich-feather,  which  had  got 
caught  up  in  a  little  bush,  and  took  it  to  wear  in  his 
hair.  Unfortunately,  he  dropped  it  on  the  bare  flat 
surface  of  the  ground,  and,  the  wind  catching  it,  it  began 
scudding  along  like  a  small  boat  at  sea.    Thinking  that 


MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES  151 


he  would  easily  catch  it,  he  ran  gently  after  it,  making 
ineffectual  prods  at  it  with  his  spear.  But  the  ostrich- 
feather  sailed  faster  and  faster,  and  he,  unwilling  to  lose 
his  treasure,  went  flying  after  it,  presenting  a  most 
comical  sight  as  he  kept  prodding  away  at  it.  Finally, 
the  ostrich-feather  outran  him,  and  so,  throwing  down  his 
spear,  he  set  off,  running  over  the  plain,  the  feather  always 
leading,  till  he  must  have  gone  a  mile  or  more.  Finally, 
he  got  left  a  very  bad  last,  and  had  to  give  up,  utterly 
blown,  while  the  feather  disappeared  in  the  distance, 
going  at  a  terrific  pace. 

In  this  valley  we  saw  in  the  distance  a  great  brown 
object,  which  we  could  not  make  out.  As  we  drew 
nearer,  we  found  that  it  was  the  carcass  of  an  elephant, 
on  which  a  great  part  of  the  skin  had  dried.  Unfortu- 
nately, the  tusks  had  been  abstracted — probably  by 
Abyssinian  hunters .  The  atmosphere  is  so  extraordinarily 
dry  that  skin  and  flesh  shrivel  up,  instead  of  rotting  and 
decaying.  I  often  noticed  animals  a  portion  of  whose 
skin  had  dried  on  to  the  carcass.  Particularly  was  this 
the  case  with  the  body  of  a  rhino  we  had  seen  at  Kalacha, 
on  which  the  skin  had  dried  practically  intact,  except  for 
a  big  hole  in  the  stomach,  which  birds  had  picked  open 
to  get  at  the  entrails. 

The  guides  took  us  over  the  slope  to  the  west  of  this 
valley,  and  in  the  next  dip  we  came  across  a  patch  of 
reeds  about  fifty  yards  broad.  The  edge  of  it  was  much 
trampled  by  game,  and  very  muddy.  In  the  reeds  I 
saw  something  lying,  and  found  the  skull  and  bones  of  an 
oryx,  which  had  been  killed,  evidently  by  a  Hon,  the  night 
before. 

Not  far  from  this  patch  of  reeds,  on  either  side  of  the 
shallow  depression,  was  msuaki  bush.  The  leaves  of  this 


152    MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES 


bush  had  formed  the  staple  food  of  our  camels  for  some 
time  now,  but  it  is  not  good  for  them,  as  it  is  too  green, 
dry  food  being  much  better  for  them. 

We  passed  round  to  the  west  side  of  the  little  sokota, 
and  there,  as  yet  sheltered  from  the  sun  by  the  reeds,  we 
found  cool  and  sweet  water  welling  up.  As  I  stooped 
down  to  drink,  I  caught  a  faint  distant  purring  sound, 
from  where  I  could  not  quite  make  out,  but  fancied  it 
was  from  the  patch  of  bush  several  hundred  yards 
behind  us.  I  said  to  Tengeneza  :  "  Perhaps  the  lion  who 
has  killed  here  is  in  that  patch  of  bush  ;"  but  later  on,  in 
the  selection  of  a  suitable  site  for  camp,  I  forgot  all  about 
this  incident.  On  a  little  rise  above  the  sokota  were 
situated  about  half  a  dozen  acacias,  giving  poor  shade, 
but  better  than  nothing. 

The  guides  had  said  that  Horr  was  marked  by  a  single 
tree,  so  I  asked  which  of  these  was  the  single  tree.  They 
replied  :  "  When  we  were  here  seven  years  ago,  there  was 
only  one  tree  ;  that  was  why  we  did  not  recognize  the 
place." 

This  water  was  quite  the  best  we  had  tasted  since 
camping  on  the  Morendat  on  the  second  day  of  our  trek. 
So  we  camped  under  the  acacias,  quite  satisfied  with  the 
spot  now  that  it  had  been  found. 

The  description  the  guides  gave  of  Horr  before  they 
left  Kalacha  was  most  misleading.  For  a  long  time 
Abdi  and  I  were  under  the  impression  that  they  were 
talking  of  Lake  Rudolf.  They  told  us  Horr  was  a  place 
with  very  much  water.  We  asked  if  it  was  as  big  as 
from  where  we  were  sitting  to  a  tree  a  hundred  yards 
away.    "  No,"  they  said  ;  "  it  is  a  very  big  water." 

"  From  here  to  the  other  side  of  the  valley  ?"  we 
asked,  indicating  a  distance  of  about  a  thousand  yards. 


MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES  153 

"  No,"  they  replied  ;  *:  Horr  is  a  very  big  water." 

"  They  must  mean  Embassu  Narok,"  I  said  to  Abdi. 
He  agreed,  and  we  then  cogitated  how  we  could  ascertain 
for  certain.  At  last  I  hit  on  it.  "Ask  them  if  there 
are  any  fish  in  the  water." 

They  said,  "  No,"  but  that  it  was  a  very  big  place,  and 
the  water  flowed  down  in  four  different  directions. 

In  reality,  the  little  sokota  was  not  more  than  about 
fifty  yards  across.  They  also  described  the  water  as 
being  like  that  at  Koroli,  which  was  the  nastiest  water 
we  had  met  with. 

My  first  anxiety  on  reaching  this  spot  was  to  obtain 
more  meat  for  the  men,  as  the  buffalo  was  now  finished. 
If  I  could  not  shoot  anything  else,  I  should  have  to  give 
out  a  full  ration  from  our  now  fast-diminishing  store. 
There  were  plenty  of  oryx  and  zebra  about,  but  it  was 
impossible  to  approach  them  on  the  flat,  bare  plain. 
However,  in  the  afternoon  they  began  to  come  towards 
the  water.  I  thought  that  if  I  could  approach  through 
the  patch  of  msuaki  bush,  it  might  be  possible  to  get  within 
a  hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred  yards  of  them,  aa 
they  came  up  to  the  sokota. 

Telling  the  men  to  draw  all  the  water  they  wanted  at 
once,  and  not  to  visit  the  sokota  again  till  I  returned,  I 
set  out  with  Tengeneza,  the  latter  carrying  my  big  bore. 
The  msuaki  grew  in  patches  and  clumps  in  the  sand,  and 
it  was  easy  to  walk  between  them.  As  they  were  in 
places  low,  and  also  on  a  hill  gently  sloping  towards  the 
water,  my  whole  attention  was  concentrated  on  seeing 
the  distant  game  through  and  over  the  bushes  without 
being  myself  seen. 

If  I  had  been  hunting  in  my  usual  way,  and  watching 
the  ground,  I  should  have  probably  noticed  some  spoor, 


154   MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES 

but  I  was  absolutely  engrossed  in  the  distant  oryx,  as  it 
meant  starvation  to  the  men  if  I  could  not  keep  up  the 
meat-supply. 

Suddenly,  as  I  walked  round  a  msuahi  bush,  I  was 
startled  by  a  duet  of  deep  bass  grunts  right  at  my  feet, 
and  two  lionesses  sprang  up  and  plunged  into  the  bush. 
If  they  had  waited  another  second,  I  must  have  trodden 
on  them.  I  threw  up  the  Mannlicher,  aiming  between 
the  shoulder-blades  of  one  oi  them  as  they  bounded  off 
grunting;  but  as  I  was  about  to  press  the  trigger,  the 
other  whipped  round,  growling.  For  a  moment  I  thought 
she  was  about  to  spring,  and  hurriedly  transferred  my 
aim  to  her  chest,  thinking  the  while  that  I  must  make 
deadly  sure  of  a  steady  shot  through  her  heart,  or  my 
Mannlicher  would  not  stop  her.  In  a  moment,  however, 
she  sprang  sideways  behind  a  shrub,  and  I  had  lost  the 
pair  of  them. 

I  ran  after  them  through  the  bush,  but  only  came  out 
into  the  open  in  time  to  see  the  two  disappearing  in  the 
distance.  If  Tengeneza  had  carried  my  Mannlicher  and 
I  the  big  bore,  things  might  have  been  different,  as  I 
should  have  risked  a  rapidly-aimed  shot,  relying  on  its 
stopping  power. 

We  still  had  a  few  sheep  left,  so  I  gave  out  the  re- 
mainder of  these.  Next  morning  before  sunrise  a  visit 
to  the  sokota  was  productive  of  an  oryx. 

During  my  wanderings  round  camp  that  day  I  struck 
another  little  sokota,  consisting  of  a  small  patch  of  thick 
reeds,  in  the  midst  of  which  was  a  pool  of  clear  water.  I 
was  led  there  by  following  fresh  lions'  spoor,  and,  ex- 
amining it,  found  that  three  parties  of  Hons  had  drunk 
the  night  before.  Evidently  this  was  a  favourite  place 
for  them,  but  no  other  game-tracks  led  to  the  water,  as 


MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES  155 


this  little  patch  of  reeds  was  encompassed  by  bush  and 
a  few  mkoma  palms.  The  game  preferred  the  sohota  in 
the  open  plain,  where  they  could  see  all  around,  whilst 
here  a  lion  might  be  lurking  in  the  bush  close  by,  and 
catch  them  at  their  drink. 

There  was  a  group  of  palms  about  thirty  yards  from 
the  spot  at  which  the  lions  drank,  so  I  put  my  men  on  to 
build  a  platform  there,  on  which  I  might  pass  the  night. 
I  spent  the  day  reconnoitring  round  Horr,  and  just  after 
sunset  went  down  to  await  the  lions.  Tengeneza  in- 
sisted on  accompanying  me,  although  I  felt  sure  that  he 
would  go  to  sleep  ;  also,  the  platform  was  rather  small 
for  two.  However,  I  was  glad  to  have  some  company, 
especially  when  I  found  that,  owing  to  the  small  height 
of  the  palms,  they  had  not  been  able  to  make  the  plat- 
form high  up  and  safe,  but  only  just  above  my  head. 

We  waited  silently  for  a  while,  Tengeneza  looking  out 
in  one  direction,  and  I  watching  the  reed-patch.  Presently 
I  heard  the  deep  and  comfortable  breathing  of  slumber 
coming  from  Tengeneza's  side  of  the  platform.  After 
watching  for  about  two  and  a  half  hours,  I  suddenly  saw 
a  shadowy  form  standing  by  the  patch  of  reeds  about 
thirty  yards  away.  It  had  not  "  come,"  but  seemed  to 
have  grown  out  of  nothing.  It  was  perfectly  still,  and  I 
could  not  make  out  if  it  was  anything,  or  just  the  result 
of  continually  straining  the  eyes  to  see  in  the  dark. 

I  watched  it  till  suddenly  it  moved,  and  then  I  saw 
that  it  was  a  lion  facing  me.  I  kicked  Tengeneza,  so  as 
to  prepare  him  for  the  report  of  my  rifle,  and  then  fired. 
There  was  a  roaring  grunt  as  the  lion  disappeared  head- 
long into  the  bush.  It  only  went  a  short  distance,  and 
then  the  noise  suddenly  ceased. 

I  could  not  tell  if  I  had  hit  him  or  not.    It  was  too 


156    MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES 


dark  to  see  one's  sights,  but,  as  he  had  answered  to  the 
shot,  it  was  probable  that  he  was  hit.  Tengeneza  assured 
me  that  he  was  hit,  but  this  did  not  convince  me,  as  he 
was  sure  to  say  that  to  please  me.  When  I  told  him  how 
I  had  first  seen  him,  he  replied  :  "  Lions  at  night  are  often 
like  that  :  they  are  invisible,  and  then  they  suddenly 
become  visible." 

We  waited  about  a  couple  of  hours  more,  and  then  we 
thought  we  heard  a  sigh.  Nothing  more  appeared  during 
the  night,  and  with  the  first  streak  of  dawn  we  descended 
and  examined  the  tracks  by  the  water. 

We  then  followed  them,  and  found,  to  our  delight,  that 
there  was  a  blood-spoor.  After  going  about  twenty 
yards,  it  disappeared  into  a  thick  patch,  so  we  cautiously 
made  a  detour,  and  struck  the  track  at  the  other  side. 
Now  the  blood  was  fresh,  whereas  before  it  had  been  dry, 
so  he  must  have  passed  the  night  behind  this  place, 
moving  on  just  before  dawn.  This  looked  as  if  he  was 
badly  hit.  We  followed  the  spoor  back,  to  see  where 
he  had  been  lying.  We  found  the  spot  under  a  bush,  and 
there  was  a  big  pool  of  blood.  We  then  followed  the 
spoor  on  for  a  couple  of  hundred  yards,  and  it  entered  a 
small  patch  of  thick  bush.  We  circled  round  this  patch, 
but  no  spoor  led  out,  so  we  knew  he  was  in  there. 

My  cautious  tactics  were  to  walk  round  and  round, 
peering  into  this  thick  patch,  ascertaining,  at  least,  some 
of  the  places  where  he  was  not.  This  did  not  please 
Tengeneza,  who,  when  we  got  opposite  his  place  of  entry, 
said,  "  Come  on  ;  let  us  go  in,"  and  began  marching  in. 

It  was  impossible,  of  course,  to  let  Tengeneza  precede 
me,  as  it  would  have  ruined  my  reputation  with  the  men, 
so  I  took  him  by  the  coat  and  pulled  him  back  behind 
me.    At  the  same  instant  I  caught  sight  of  the  lion's 


MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES  157 


head  glaring  at  us  from  under  a  bush.  If  Tengeneza  had 
rushed  in,  he  would  have  been  had  for  a  certainty. 

I  fired  at  him,  and  he  immediately  collapsed.  We 
went  in,  and,  peering  under  the  bushes,  saw  him  stretched 
out.  Tengeneza  said  :  "  He  is  alive.  Why  are  his  eyes 
fierce  V  And  so  they  were,  as  he  had  a  yellow  glint 
in  them,  and  at  the  same  moment  he  moved  a  paw. 
We  retired  a  few  yards  hurriedly,  but  soon  his  eyes 
glazed  over  and  his  limbs  stiffened  out. 

He  was  a  red-maned  male,  but  not  a  very  big  specimen. 
He  had  been  lying  in  a  little  depression  behind  a  thick 
branch  resting  on  the  ground,  and  so  only  his  head  had 
been  visible.  The  first  shot  had  passed  through  a  front 
leg,  high  up,  and  then  through  the  stomach,  while  the 
second  hit  him  in  the  neck,  stunning  but  not  killing  him 
immediately. 

I  now  wanted  to  push  on  to  El  Had  without  further 
waste  of  time,  but  the  guides  absolutely  refused  to  go 
on,  saying  that  we  could  not  possibly  reach  the  place  from 
here,  as  the  country  was  too  bad,  being  all  lava  and 
rocks.  I  asked  them  what  they  had  come  here  for,  and 
they  said  because  I  wanted  to  come,  but  we  could  not 
go  any  farther  ;  we  must  turn  back  now,  and  perhaps  we 
could  get  up  into  the  Borana  county  from  Maikona,  but 
there  was  no  way  on.  The  country  was  too  bad  to 
travel  at  night,  while  the  sun  was  too  hot  to  travel  by 
day,  and  not  even  the  Borana  would  attempt  the  journey 
at  this  time  of  the  year.  If  a  man  carried  nothing  but 
water,  he  would  drink  it  all  up  before  he  got  anywhere. 
This  last  remark  very  aptly  described  trekking  in  this 
country. 

El  Had,  they  said,  would  take  a  man  without  a  load 
five  days  to  reach,  and  the  way  led  over  lava.  Moreover, 


158    MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES 


the  water  there  was  uncertain.  I  was  very  annoyed  with 
the  guides,  as  they  evidently  did  not  know  anything 
about  the  country,  and  did  not  even  know  of  the  other 
water-hole  at  Horr ;  for,  besides  the  lions'  water,  the  camel- 
grazing  party  had  found  a  third  fresh-water  sokota. 

When  they  suggested  that  we  should  turn  round  and 
go  back  again,  and  refused  to  go  on,  I  told  them  that  they 
could  go  back,  as  they  were  not  wanted.  So  I  sent  them 
off  with  only  a  small  present,  as  they  had  come  under 
false  pretences. 

The  next  thing  was  to  decide  what  should  then  be  done. 
I  wanted  to  get  northwards,  if  possible,  but,  failing  this, 
would  strike  across  country  westwards,  and  make  for 
Lake  Rudolf.  The  first  thing  was  to  investigate  north- 
wards, and  see  if  there  were  any  signs  of  water,  as  I  had 
no  faith  in  the  guides'  statement  that  there  was  none 
either  northwards  or  westwards.  They  had  never  even 
heard  of  Rudolf. 

I  was  not  able  to  spend  much  time  in  these  investiga- 
tions, because  of  the  food  question.  All  I  found  was  a 
mass  of  sandhills,  and  in  the  far  distance  I  could  see  a 
lava  escarpment.  I  secured  a  zebra  for  the  men,  which 
kept  them  in  food,  with  their  usual  half-ration  of  flour. 
In  the  bush  at  Horr  there  were  a  number  of  vulturine 
guinea-fowls,  and  whilst  I  was  looking  at  the  country 
round,  and  shooting  meat  for  the  men,  Tengeneza  secured 
some  of  these  for  my  table. 

Finally  I  had  to  give  up  the  idea  of  proceeding  north- 
wards, and  turn  my  attention  to  the  consideration  of 
whether  we  should  be  able  to  reach  Lake  Rudolf  with  the 
water  we  could  carry.  The  porters  were  very  horrified 
when  the  guides  were  dismissed,  and  thought  that  our 
last  day  was  near.    They  could  not  possibly  understand 


MORE  UNKNOWN  WATER-HOLES  159 


that  I  could  work  out  our  position,  and  know  where  we 
were  with  reference  to  the  lake.  Also,  being  very  bad 
hands  at  finding  their  way  about,  the  idea  of  even  return- 
ing without  guides  appalled  them. 

I  called  up  Abdi  and  Omari,  and  told  them  that  I  was 
tired  of  the  waterless  country,  and  so  was  going  to  the 
lake,  and  soon  we  would  be  in  position  to  camp  by  water 
every  day.  As  I  knew  that  the  men  were  very  fearful 
of  our  future  movements,  I  instructed  them  to  explain 
this  to  their  men. 

Whilst  I  was  engaged  on  my  calculations  Abdi  appeared, 
and  asked  me  to  come  and  see  what  Tumbo  had  done. 
I  went  to  look,  and  met  the  resourceful  Tumbo  staggering 
up  from  the  sokota,  carrying  an  improvised  water-skin 
made  of  the  skin  of  our  last  sheep.  This  and  a  second 
one  were  christened  Tumbo's  babies. 

If  there  had  been  any  doubt  in  my  mind  as  to  whether 
we  should  undertake  the  long  march  to  the  lake,  it  was 
this  incident  that  finally  decided  me. 


CHAPTER  XI 


TUMEPONA  WATER-HOLE 

Our  own  position  I  had  worked  out  on  the  map,  and 
as  the  position  of  Lake  Rudolf  was  known,  it  was  possible 
to  measure  the  distance  as  the  crow  flies.  The  part  of 
the  shore  for  which  I  intended  to  steer  was  the  little 
bay  just  south  of  Longendoti  Mountain. 

Although  one  knew  the  distance  and  the  direction  of 
the  point  to  be  reached,  it  was  impossible  to  guess  what 
kind  of  country  lay  between  us  and  the  lake.  Assuming 
that  it  was  fairly  good  going,  and  that  the  men  kept  up 
their  spirits  and  marched  well,  I  calculated  that  the  water 
we  could  carry  would  give  us  each  two  small  bowls  a 
day,  with  a  little  extra  for  the  porters  carrying  loads. 
In  a  temperate  climate  such  a  small  ration  of  water  per 
diem  would  have  been  no  hardship,  but  here  it  was 
miserably  inadequate. 

A  serious  consideration  was  the  nature  of  the  country. 
Fortunately,  the  moon  was  nearly  full,  so  that  we  could 
take  advantage  of  practically  the  whole  night  for  march- 
ing ;  but  if  we  met  with  very  broken  country,  with  steep 
lava  escarpments  and  ravines,  it  might  not  be  possible  to 
proceed  at  night.  As  a  long  march  during  the  day  was 
out  of  the  question  under  such  a  powerful  sun,  this  would 
effectually  stop  us. 

160 


TUMEPONA  WATER-HOLE  161 


Still,  I  had  another  resource  to  fall  back  upon,  and 
that  was,  should  we  meet  with  such  country,  to  leave 
all  our  loads  behind  us,  and  try  to  make  the  lake  with 
just  our  water-tanks.  Having  arrived  there,  we  could 
then  send  back  the  camels  and  a  small  party,  with  all 
the  tanks,  to  fetch  in  our  loads.  Such  a  course  would, 
however,  entail  serious  delay,  and  might  be  fatal  to  our 
food-supply. 

The  chief  difficulty  to  contend  with  was  the  slowness 
of  the  men  and  camels  picking  their  way  at  night  over 
loose  stones  or  through  dust  and  volcanic  debris.  This 
made  the  fatigue  and  length  of  time  of  the  marches 
actually  performed  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  ridiculous 
little  distance  they  appeared  when  plotted  off  on  the  map. 
My  great  fear,  too,  was  that  the  men  would  lose  heart, 
in  which  event  we  most  certainly  should  not  reach  our 
destination. 

I  knew  that  nearly  all  the  men  and  Omari  were  in 
favour  of  taking  the  guides'  advice  and  going  back. 
Abdi,  however,  was,  as  usual,  quite  ready  to  do  as  I 
wished,  and,  I  believe,  almost  as  anxious  as  I  was  to 
push  through  to  the  journey's  end  at  all  hazards.  Be- 
sides being  pleased  at  Tumbo's  resource  in  making  the 
water-skins,  I  gathered  from  this  that  Abdi  had  imbued 
his  men  with  the  proper  spirit. 

Before  starting,  I  did  my  best  to  cheer  up  the  men, 
and  make  them  put  their  faith  in  me,  addressing  them  as 
follows  : 

"  You  have  heard  the  guides  say  that  we  cannot 
reach  water  northwards,  and  we  have  tried  that  country, 
and  it  is  bad.  Of  the  country  westwards  they  know 
nothing,  and  admit  that  they  have  never  been  there. 
Even  if  they  had,  of  what  use  would  they  be,  for  they 

11 


162        TUMEPONA  WATER-HOLE 


could  not  even  find  the  water  at  this  place,  where  they  say 
that  they  themselves  used  to  live  ? 

"  They  did  their  best  to  cause  us  trouble  and  suffering 
in  coming  here.  Of  what  use  are  the  guides  of  this 
country  ?  Do  you  not  remember  how  in  the  Elges  they 
told  us  that  we  should  reach  water  on  one  day,  and  we 
did  not  ?  Now  I  have  sent  these  two  guides  away,  and 
have  decided  to  become  myself  the  guide  of  this  caravan, 
and  lead  you  of  my  own  wisdom. 

"  The  place  to  which  I  have  decided  to  go  is  Em-bassu 
Narok  (Lake  Rudolf),  for  there  is  much  water.  If  you 
say,  How  can  I  know  the  way,  when  I  have  never  yet  been 
there  ?  I  tell  you  that  the  wisdom  of  the  white  man  is 
greater  than  you  can  fathom. 

"  Had  I  wished  to  go  there  from  the  first,  I  could  have 
led  you  there,  for  other  white  men  have  been  there,  and 
the  way  is  written  in  books  of  learning.  The  reason  I 
came  here  was  that  no  white  man  had  yet  been  here,  and 
I  wished  to  find  a  new  country. 

"  We  have  found  a  new  country  here,  and  now  I  have 
measured  the  stars,  and  find  that  there  is  a  way  to  Em- 
bassu  Narok.  But  I  will  not  deceive  you  :  the  distance 
is  great,  and  there  may  be  bad  country  in  the  way. 
If  I  told  you  that  it  was  near,  and  that  we  should  have 
plenty  of  water  in  the  way,  then  would  you  recognize 
my  words  as  those  of  a  fool. 

"  No  ;  we  shall  have  but  little  water  in  the  way,  but 
much  water  when  we  reach  there.  This  is  my  plan,  and 
when  you  hear  it  you  will  recognize  that  my  words  are 
spoken  with  wisdom.  We  mil  leave  here  this  evening, 
when  the  strength  of  the  sun  is  but  little,  and  will  march 
all  through  the  night  and  as  long  as  we  may  to-morrow 
morning,  making  but  short  halts  on  the  way. 


TUMEPONA  WATER-HOLE  163 


"  All  this  we  must  do  on  the  water  that  is  in  our  water- 
bottles,  but  when  we  halt  to-morrow,  then  each  one  will 
have  a  bowl  of  water,  and  those  that  carry  loads  will 
have  a  bowl  and  a  half.  In  the  evening  we  will  have 
another  bowl  to  put  in  our  water-bottles,  and  will  march 
on  all  through  that  night.  Next  day  will  be  the  same, 
and  we  will  march  through  the  next  night. 

"  On  the  following  morning  you  will  not  have  water, 
but  you  will  have  the  sight  of  Embassu  Narok  to  gladden 
your  hearts,  and  we  will  march  that  day  until  we  reach 
it.  And  the  place  that  we  shall  reach  on  the  lake  will 
be  the  old  camp  of  another  white  man,  and  I  will  give 
you  a  sign  by  which  you  may  recognize  it  from  afar. 
There  will  be  white  sand,  and  thick  bushes  like  those 
called  by  the  Kikuyu  nyambura." 

This  last  touch  was  put  in  from  Von  Hohnel's  descrip- 
tion of  their  camp,  which  was  amidst  what  he  called 
"  succulent  bush  "  growing  in  sand.  This  succulent  bush 
I  afterwards  learnt  was  the  shrub  called  by  the  Swahilis 
msuaki,  already  referred  to. 

The  preparations  for  the  journey  were  soon  made. 
I  looked  up  the  declination  of  the  moon  in  the  nautical 
almanac,  selected  the  equatorial  stars  which  would  serve 
our  purpose,  and  jotted  down  their  declinations  in  my 
pocket-book.  I  also  noticed  a  rocky  peak  in  the  distance, 
which  might  serve  to  guide  us,  as  our  direct  route  passed 
under  its  southern  end. 

The  new  water-skins  and  other  water-vessels  were 
filled,  the  only  remaining  han  was  put  aside  for  the  use 
of  the  mule,  and  two  bottles  were  filled  for  Narok,  to  last 
her  till  the  first  issue  of  water,  when  she  would  draw 
the  same  rations  as  everybody  else,  or  a  little  more  if  she 
showed  signs  of  great  exhaustion. 

11—2 


164        TUMEPONA  WATER-HOLE 


Finally,  the  camels  were  loaded,  and  after  a  last  drink 
from  Horr  garba,*  we  started. 

The  first  part  of  the  journey  led  over  sandhills,  and 
then  we  struck  a  sandy  watercourse,  where  we  rested 
for  a  little,  and  continued  over  an  absolutely  flat  plain, 
composed  of  level,  smooth  rock.  We  had  lost  sight  of 
the  rocky  peak  soon  after  starting,  but  as  the  night  wore 
on  I  hoped  to  see  it  against  the  sky-line. 

In  the  early  hours  of  the  morning  we  struck  a  belt  of 
bush  and  another  watercourse.  On  arrival  here  I  was 
immediately  aware  by  the  scent  that  there  had  recently 
been  elephant  at  this  place,  and,  looking  carefully,  I 
discovered  their  spoor  by  the  light  of  the  moon.  As  we 
pushed  through  this  bush  patch  in  the  utter  stillness  of 
the  night  there  was  a  sudden  loud  crashing  sound,  and 
then  the  familiar  "  puff,  puff  "  as  a  rhino  we  had  disturbed 
crashed  through  the  bush  in  front  of  me  and  blundered  off. 

I  was  glad  to  emerge  from  this  bush  patch  and  reach 
the  open  plain  again,  as  the  way  was  easier,  and  the  chance 
of  large  pachyderms  careering  round  in  the  dark  gave 
both  myself,  the  men,  and  the  camels  the  jumps. 

The  non-appearance  of  the  peak  had  puzzled  me,  but 
presently  the  reason  for  this  became  apparent,  for  a  long 
black  form  loomed  up  in  front  of  us.  As  we  came  near 
it  rose  higher  and  higher,  till  we  could  see  a  long  lava 
escarpment,  running  north  and  south,  silhouetted  against 
the  sky-line,  and  concealing  from  view  the  setting  moon. 

At  the  base  were  game  tracks,  and  I  felt  certain  that 
under  this  escarpment,  either  to  north  or  south,  must  be 
water — probably  water-holes  of  the  same  type  as  those 
under  the  escarpment  we  had  left  behind  us.  However, 

*  Horr  garba  is  the  Borana  name  for  the  Sokota  nearest  our  camp, 
meaning  the  "  rush  (grown)  Horr." 


TUMEPONA  WATER-HOLE  165 


a  search  for  these  would  entail  camping  here,  and  if 
the  search  was  unproductive,  or  the  water  proved  salt, 
we  should  then  be  compelled  to  return  to  Horr,  and  so 
waste  valuable  time. 

Behind  us  the  plain  was  still  lit  up  by  the  moonlight, 
but  here  under  the  escarpment  we  were  in  shadow,  so 
that  our  way  up  was  difficult.  I  selected  a  spur,  and 
began  climbing  this.  The  escarpment  was  composed  of 
masses  of  loose  bits  of  lava  thrown  together,  but  here 
they  were  rounded  fragments,  whereas  on  the  other  side 
of  the  plain  the  lava  was  sharp  and  jagged. 

As  I  was  getting  near  the  top  of  the  slope  I  suddenly 
stopped,  for  I  was  semi-conscious  of  something  moving 
just  in  front  of  me.  Seeing  nothing,  I  lay  down,  to  get 
a  better  view,  and  then  made  out  a  shadowy  form  against 
the  sky-line,  moving  diagonally  across  my  front. 

Tengeneza,  who  had  been  just  behind  me,  came  up 
and  lay  down  beside  me,  and  as  he  did  so  the  form 
separated  into  two,  and  we  could  see  two  long  bodies 
advancing  obliquely  across  the  spur  to  the  left.  Then 
they  passed  into  a  depression,  and  were  lost  to  sight. 

I  stood  up  to  try  and  get  another  glimpse  of  these 
figures,  and  at  the  same  time  Tengeneza  caught  hold  of 
me,  and  pulled  me  back,  so  I  knew  that  he  had  formed 
the  same  opinion  as  I  had.  He  whispered  to  me  :  "  There 
are  no  horns,  so  they  must  be  either  lion  or  rhino  ;"  to 
which  I  replied  :  "I  don't  think  that  they  are  rhino." 

Presently  we  advanced  up  the  spur,  and  from  the  nullah 
below  us  on  our  left  we  heard  a  rasping  purr  repeated  a 
couple  of  times,  which  told  us  that  they  were  Hons. 

We  waited  for  the  men  and  camels,  then  proceeded  to 
the  top  of  the  escarpment,  and  found  that  the  moon  was 
setting.    After  travelling  a  short  distance,  our  path  being 


166        TUMEPONA  WATER-HOLE 


made  difficult  by  the  loose  boulders  of  lava,  we  came  to  a 
steep  nullah  across  our  path.  As  it  would  have  been 
impossible  to  get  the  camels  down  this  in  the  dark,  we  had 
to  stop  here  till  the  dawn.  Forming  the  camels  into  a 
circle,  we  made  them  kneel  down,  and  unloaded  them,  and 
we  lay  beside  them  on  the  rocks  to  get  what  rest  we  could. 

I  gave  out  a  little  water  to  the  porters  who  had  been 
carrying  loads,  but  the  others  had  to  do  without.  I  had 
just  settled  myself  down  when  Abdi  came  to  me,  and  said 
that  three  lions  were  sitting  down  close  by  on  the  other 
side  of  the  camels.  He  was  sure  that  they  were  lions. 
I  said  :  "  If  that  is  the  case,  we  will  fire  a  volley  at  them." 
This  may  sound  rather  unsporting,  but  I  could  not  afford 
to  run  the  risk  of  losing  a  camel,  or  having  the  men  dis- 
turbed, when  they  wanted  all  their  strength  for  the 
morrow. 

I  went  and  lay  down  where  Abdi  directed  me,  and 
certainly  saw  three  forms,  but  what  they  were  I  could 
not  tell,  as  they  appeared  perfectly  stationary.  I  said 
to  Abdi  :  "  I  don't  believe  that  those  are  lions,  for  they 
do  not  move."  Abdi  said  :  "  No,  not  now,  for  they  are 
sitting  watching  us ;  but  I  saw  them  move  before  you 
came  here."  As  he  seemed  so  certain,  I  gave  the  order 
to  fire,  and  a  volley  was  fired,  but  the  three  objects  still 
remained  stationary.  I  gave  the  order  to  advance,  and 
we  advanced  about  fifteen  yards,  and  lay  down  again. 
The  three  objects  were  gone. 

We  returned  to  our  first  position,  and  there  they  were 
again !  How  small  we  felt !  The  objects  we  had  been  firing 
at  were  three  little  tufts  of  grass  not  ten  yards  from  us. 
I  went  back  to  He  down,  cursing  Abdi  and  myself  for  being 
two  excitable  fools. 

After  an  hour  and  a  half's  sleep  dawn  broke,  and  we 


TUMEPONA  WATER-HOLE  167 


loaded  up  the  camels  again.  The  going  was  bad,  but  we 
could  now  see  how  to  pick  our  way.  We  proceeded  till, 
as  the  sun  became  unbearably  hot,  we  saw  a  valley  below 
the  escarpment,  and  some  thorn-trees,  which  would  afford 
a  certain  amount  of  shade. 

We  descended  from  the  escarpment,  and  struggled  on 
till  we  reached  the  shelter  of  these  trees.  On  the  way  a 
curious  object  appeared  in  the  distance,  which  I  at  first 
took  to  be  a  Waller's  gazelle,  but  which  through  glasses 
proved  to  be  a  tall,  thin,  white  ant-hill.  We  had  not 
seen  one  for  perhaps  two  months,  and  I  remembered  that 
Von  Hohnel  remarked  on  meeting  with  white  ant-hills  for 
the  first  time  near  Longendoti.  So  I  pointed  this  out  to 
the  men,  and  said  :  "  There  is  a  sign  that  we  are  in  the 
right  way,  for  it  is  written  in  a  book  I  have  here  that  there 
are  no  white  ant-hills  along  the  Embassu  Narok  until  the 
camp  is  reached  for  which  we  are  making." 

When  the  camels  had  been  unloaded  and  turned  out  to 
graze,  we  dealt  out  the  ration  of  water  from  "Tumbo's 
babies,"  as  the  men  called  the  water-skins.  One  had 
leaked  on  the  way,  and  both  had  rotted,  and  the  smell 
of  the  water  was  vile.  The  men  did  not  seem  to  mind  it 
much,  although  it  nearly  made  me  sick  to  smell  it. 
Tumbo's  sage  remark  was  :  "  The  water  itself  is  quite  good 
and  sweet ;  it  is  only  that  it  has  the  smell  of  the  skin  in 
it."  Fortunately  the  skins  were  emptied  before  it  came 
to  my  turn,  so  I  did  not  have  to  drink  this  water. 

After  having  had  their  ration  of  water,  the  men  lay 
down,  and  immediately  went  to  sleep,  food  being,  of 
course,  quite  out  of  the  question,  as  our  mouths  and 
throats  were  so  dry  that  it  would  have  taken  gallons  of 
water  to  wash  down  the  least  fragment  of  food.  I  was 
not  so  lucky  as  the  men,  as  I  could  not  sleep,  and  lay  on 


168       TUMEPONA  WATER-HOLE 


the  sand,  moving  about  to  try  and  keep  in  the  small 
patches  of  shade  from  my  tree,  with  head  and  eyes 
burning  from  the  heat  and  thirst.  Narok  kept  me 
company,  and  moved  with  me  from  one  patch  of  shade  to 
the  other  with  her  tongue  out.  Every  now  and  then  she 
would  go  and  lick  her  empty  water-plate,  and  look  at  me 
beseechingly. 

Before  we  started  on  I  made  an  effort  to  go  out  and  see 
if  there  were  signs  of  water  to  be  found  anywhere  in  the 
valley  on  one  side,  while  Omari  went  in  another  direction. 

In  the  afternoon  we  loaded  up  again,  and  after  a  ration 
of  water  had  been  given  out  to  last  through  the  night,  we 
proceeded.  As  there  was  a  steep  escarpment  to  be 
ascended  on  the  other  side  of  the  valley,  I  proceeded  to 
choose  a  good  route  for  the  camels  to  climb.  I  also 
wanted  to  see  what  the  country  was  like  on  the  other  side. 

I  reached  the  top,  and,  leaving  Tengeneza  to  mark  the 
way  for  the  camels,  went  on,  and  hit  on  an  old  elephant- 
path  leading  westwards.  As  this  was  the  direction  in 
which  we  wanted  to  go,  and  would,  moreover,  avoid  the 
worst  country,  I  was  overjoyed,  and  determined  to  stick 
to  it  through  the  night  for  as  long  as  possible. 

The  men  were  a  long  time  coming  up,  and  then  progress 
was  painfully  slow,  as  they  straggled  tremendously. 
Every  quarter  of  an  hour  or  so  I  had  to  wait  for  them  to 
close  up,  and  threaten  them  with  all  sorts  of  punishments 
if  they  did  not  step  out.  The  camels  lagged  up  the 
escarpments,  and  the  men  struggled  on  listlessly,  hardly 
noticing  what  I  said. 

The  moon  was  bright,  and  the  elephant-track  proved 
very  fair  going.  As  we  trekked  along  we  suddenly  came 
on  a  circular  wall  of  stones,  showing  that  at  one  time 
there  must  have  been  inhabitants  here,  perhaps  Turkana. 


TUMEPONA  WATER-HOLE  169 


Then  two  other  elephant  or  rhino  paths  converged  with 
the  one  we  were  on — a  favourable  portent. 

Suddenly  we  dipped  down  into  a  little  nullah,  and  as 
we  reached  the  bottom  I  heard  a  lapping  sound  from  close 
by.  I  rushed  to  the  spot,  and  found  Narok  with  her  nose 
poked  down  a  long  crack  in  the  lava,  and  there  was  water 
the  whole  length  of  this  crack,  which  was  about  ten  yards 
long  by  a  foot  broad. 

I  immediately  knelt  down  to  try  the  water  before 
informing  the  porters,  for  it  might  have  been  salt,  and  I 
did  not  wish  to  disappoint  them.  It  was  sweet  and  pure, 
but  I  did  not  wish  to  show  any  unseemly  joy  at  finding 
water,  or  let  them  think  that  I  was  at  any  time  uncertain 
as  to  whether  we  should  ever  reach  Rudolf.  So  when  the 
leading  porters  came  up,  while  the  sais  was  calling  out, 
"  Water,  water  !"  like  a  maniac,  I  said,  "  If  anybody 
wants  any  water,  there  is  some  in  that  hole  there." 

The  porters  hardly  believed  at  first,  but  when  they 
realized  they  threw  themselves  down  beside  the  water, 
crying  out  :  "  Tumepona  bwana  tumepona  !"  (We  are 
saved,  master — we  are  saved  !).  Whilst  they  were  drink- 
ing I  went  on  and  inspected  the  sandy  bottom  of  the 
valley  beside  the  lava  crack,  and  found  fresh  traces  of 
elephant — in  fact,  so  fresh  that  they  must  have  been 
digging  in  the  river-bed  as  we  came  up.  There  were  one 
or  two  holes  scooped  out  in  the  sand.  At  the  bottom  of 
two  of  them  was  a  little  muddy  water. 

I  came  back  to  the  men,  and  said  :  "I  think  we  will 
camp  here  ;  we  have,  of  course,  plenty  of  water  to  go  on 
with,  but  as  there  are  elephant  here,  it  would  be  rather  a 
good  thing  to  stay." 

On  the  other  side  of  the  sandy  watercourse  we  found  a 
little  ring  of  thorn-trees  round  a  nice  level  place  for  the 


170       TUMEPONA  WATER- HOLE 


camels  to  kneel  on,  so,  after  the  porters  had  drunk  their 
fill,  we  unloaded  here,  and  food  was  given  out.  We  had 
had  no  food  since  leaving  Horr,  so  I  now  gave  out  a 
full  ration,  and  promised  to  obtain  some  meat  for  the 
men  on  the  morrow  in  addition  to  their  ration. 

After  having  fed,  I  had  just  got  to  sleep,  when  I  awoke 
with  a  start,  and  seized  my  rifle.  The  camels  were 
standing  up,  and  some  of  them  were  gurgling,  which  meant 
danger,  and  at  the  same  time  the  night-watchman  rushed 
up  to  me,  and  said  that  there  was  a  rhino  in  the  middle 
of  the  camp.  I  hurriedly  shoved  on  my  boots,  but  before 
I  could  get  up  I  heard  "  puff,  puff,  puff  "  going  off  into 
the  night,  so,  after  taking  a  turn  round  to  reassure  the 
camels,  I  went  to  bed  again. 

Camels  make  excellent  sentries  at  night,  as  they  are 
quick  of  ear  and  scent,  and  always  stand  up  if  there  is 
any  danger  about.  Somalis  say  that  the  only  things  an 
old  male  camel  will  stand  up  and  gurgle  for  at  night  are 
a  lion,  a  rhino,  or  a  strange  man.  If  it  is  only  a  strange 
woman,  they  take  no  notice.  They  always  seem  wonder- 
fully tractable  with  women,  and  allow  strange  women  to 
load  them,  whereas  they  are  often  afraid  of  a  man  to 
whom  they  are  not  accustomed. 

After  these  doings  there  was  not  much  left  of  the  night, 
but  we  slept  till  after  sunrise.  I  decided  to  stop  here 
to-day,  and  start  next  afternoon,  as  it  was  necessary  for 
the  camels  to  get  some  grazing,  for  on  the  march  they 
get  little  or  nothing.  It  was  also  necessary  to  obtain  some 
meat  to  buck  up  the  men,  and  help  eke  out  the  ration?. 
An  elephant  would  have  suited  us  nicely,  but  my  first 
duty  to  the  men  was  to  shoot  anything  I  saw,  at  the  risk 
of  disturbing  any  elephant  in  the  vicinity  with  my  shots. 

There  was  little  to  be  obtained  in  the  neighbourhood 


TUMEPONA  WATER- HOLE  171 


except  gazelle,  and  the  occasional  elephant  and  rhino  who 
visited  the  water.  The  gazelle  were  not  plentiful,  they 
were  very  wary,  and  there  was  not  much  cover  under 
which  to  stalk  them.  The  result  was  that  I  spent  a  very 
long,  hot,  tiring  day  stalking  and  crawling  on  my  stomach 
over  hot  lava  rocks,  but  managed  to  bag  five  gazelle,  to 
the  joy  of  the  men. 

During  the  day  I  saw  a  party  of  five  cheetah,  but  they 
saw  me  first,  and  bolted  off.  No  fresh  elephant  or  rhino 
tracks  were  met  with. 

An  examination  of  the  watercourse  showed  that  there 
was  no  other  place  up  or  down  stream  at  which  water 
came  to  the  surface,  so  our  luck  was  great  in  striking  it 
here. 

By  the  tracks  in  the  river-bed  it  appeared  that  rhino 
often  visited  the  water-hole  at  night,  and  one  of  the  men 
said  that  during  the  night  he  had  gone  to  fetch  a  drink, 
and  saw  two  rhino  there.  So  after  dinner  that  night  I 
crept  out  to  the  water-hole,  and  had  not  been  there  very 
long  before  I  saw  two  great  forms  coming  down  the  dry 
river-bed. 

I  crept  back,  and  waited  opposite  the  water,  but  pres- 
ently heard  them  digging  in  the  sand  above  me.  When  I 
tried  to  approach  them,  my  boots  made  such  a  noise 
amongst  the  stones  of  the  nullah  that  I  returned  to  camp, 
changed  to  a  pair  of  rubber-soled  boots,  and  came  out 
again.  As  I  pushed  through  the  bush  just  behind  camp, 
I  saw  the  rhino  dimly  outlined  on  the  other  bank.  They 
had  evidently  heard  something  to  alarm  them,  or  seen  or 
smelt  the  camp-fires. 

As  they  were  about  to  depart,  I  crept  across  the  river- 
bed, and  got  them  outlined  against  the  sky.  I  could  not 
see  my  sights,  and  should  not  have  fired,  but  I  thought 


172        TUMEPONA  WATER-HOLE 


what  a  blessing  so  much  meat  would  be  to  make  up  our 
short  rations,  and  so  was  tempted  to  try  a  shot  just  as 
they  were  going.  The  result  was  that  I  sighted  too  high, 
as  one  generally  does  at  night,  and  the  bullet  passed  over 
them. 

They  bolted,  and  presently  I  heard  something  else 
coming  through  the  bush.  Thinking  that  it  might  be 
another,  I  sat  still  in  the  river-bed,  but  it  was  only  Kitabu 
and  the  night-watchman.  I  asked  them  what  they  were 
doing,  and  where  they  were  going  to,  and  they  said  : 
"  Oh,  we  heard  you  fire,  and  came  to  see  if  you  were  all 
safe." 

I  was  much  touched  at  the  solicitude  of  these  good, 
faithful  souls,  especially  after  the  way  I  had  been  swearing 
at  them  the  night  before  to  get  them  along. 


CHAPTER  XII 


WE  REACH  LAKE  RUDOLF 

It  was  not  possible  to  delay  here  any  longer,  so  I  gave  it 
out  that  we  were  going  to  start  again.  Omari  came  to  me 
with  a  very  long  face,  and  said  that  the  men  would  never 
agree  to  go  on  ;  they  were  frightened  that  they  would  die 
of  thirst  on  the  way,  and  would  never  consent  to  leave 
the  water. 

I  did  not  wonder  that  the  men  felt  mutinous  after  all 
they  had  endured,  when  they  thought  of  facing  a  water- 
less march  again  to  a  destination  unknown.  I  said  to 
Omari  :  "  The  men  can  stop  here  as  long  as  they  like,  if 
they  eat  nothing  the  while.    Will  they  consent  to  that  V 

Omari  replied  :  "  How  can  we  live  without  food  ?" 
to  which  I  answered  :  "  Just  so  ;  that  is  why  we  are 
going  on." 

The  country  in  front  of  us  appeared  to  be  a  broken, 
intersected  country,  difficult  to  travel  over.  If  the  men 
got  too  depressed,  they  would  go  so  slowly  and  lag  so  at 
night  over  this  broken  ground  that  they  would  cover  no 
distance  at  all.  I  could  see  that  they  were  very  down 
and  played  out  with  the  heat,  as  they  did  nothing  but 
sleep  all  day.  When  I  wanted  men  to  come  out  with  me 
or  to  fetch  in  meat,  no  volunteers  sprang  up  as  usual; 
the  headman  had  to  go  round  and  stir  them  up. 

I  called  up  the  men,  and  addressed  them  as  follows 

173 


174      WE  REACH  LAKE  RUDOLF 


"  Now  I  see  that  you  have  all  become  as  women,  and 
your  hearts  have  turned  to  water.  You  say  in  your 
hearts,  4  The  bwana  is  going  to  take  us  out  into  the 
waterless  country,  and  there  let  us  die  ';  and  when  I  say 
that  Embassu  Narok  (Rudolf)  is  near,  you  do  not  be- 
lieve me. 

"  Now,  how  am  I  going  to  get  a  caravan  of  women 
to  Embassu  Narok  ?  I  shall  get  there,  for  my  heart 
has  not  turned  to  water,  but  you — how  shall  I  get  you 
there  ? 

"  This  is  what  I  am  going  to  do  :  I  am  going  to  prove 
to  you  that  my  words  are  true.  I  shall  start  from  here 
to-night,  alone,  and  in  my  hand  I  shall  take  a  bottle,  and 
I  shall  go  down  to  the  lake  and  fill  the  bottle,  and  bring  it 
back  here  on  the  third  day. 

"  When  you  taste  the  water,  you  will  know  that  it  is 
the  water  of  Embassu  Narok,  for  it  is  not  sweet  like  the 
water  here,  but  bitter.  Now,  if  I  do  not  come  back,  you 
will  know  that  you  were  right,  and  that  I  have  lied  to  you 
about  the  lake.  But  if  I  come  back  in  three  days,  I 
shall  come  back  evilly  disposed  towards  you,  and  will 
make  you  all  carry  sixty-pound  loads,  as  you  do  in  our 
country,  and  I  will  reduce  your  rations,  to  make  up  for 
the  time  you  have  wasted.    What  say  you  ?" 

They  murmured  amongst  themselves,  and  then  said  : 
'  We  will  follow  you."  This  would  have  sounded  better 
if  they  had  not  added  :  "  We  cannot  be  left  by  our- 
selves." 

Then  I  said  :  "  Well,  if  I  let  you  come  with  me,  you 
must  step  out,  and  not  loiter  on  the  way.  Now,  listen. 
We  will  march  this  afternoon  and  through  the  night,  and 
to-morrow  you  will  see  Embassu  Narok  ;  but  it  will  be 
far  off.    I  told  you  that  you  would  see  it  on  the  third 


WE  REACH  LAKE  RUDOLF  175 


day  from  Horr,  but  we  have  stopped  here  on  the  way. 
Now,  see  if  my  words  do  not  come  true." 

We  had  no  longer  "  Tumbo's  baby  "  to  augment  our 
water-supply,  but  the  distance  was  short,  and  if  only  the 
men  stepped  out,  we  ought  to  do  it  easily  enough.  We 
started  away  by  an  elephant-track,  and  at  first  all  was 
easy  going,  but,  as  the  afternoon  wore  on,  we  had  to 
leave  our  elephant-track,  which  went  off  northwards. 
Seeing  that  the  country  ahead  would  probably  be  rather 
rough,  I  pushed  on  with  Tengeneza  and  the  sais  to  see 
what  it  was  like. 

At  sunset  we  were  a  long  way  ahead  of  the  caravan. 
Just  in  front  the  view  was  restricted  by  a  lava  rise.  As  I 
wanted  to  select  a  good  line  before  it  got  dark,  I  mounted 
the  mule,  and  went  forward  to  reconnoitre  the  ground, 
telling  the  sais  and  Tengeneza  to  light  a  fire  of  some  dead 
grass  and  sticks,  to  guide  the  porters. 

Having  ascended  a  small  hill,  and  seen  as  much  as 
possible  of  the  country  to  the  front,  I  returned,  and  found 
that  the  pair  I  had  left  behind  had  displayed  the  typical 
African's  devilish  cunning  in  doing  the  wrong  thing  if  it 
is  possible  to  do  so  ;  for  in  a  perfectly  open  country  they 
had  selected  the  only  patch  of  bush  there  was,  and  lit 
the  fire  behind  this,  so  that  its  light  could  not  be  seen  by 
the  advancing  caravan. 

I  felt  most  annoyed  to  think  that  the  porters  might 
even  now  be  worried  as  to  where  we  were,  and  perhaps 
had  wearied  themselves  unnecessarily.  It  is  no  good 
ever  getting  angry  with  natives,  as  they  will  then  pretend 
that  they  are  hopeless  idiots,  and  understand  nothing  you 
say — an  attitude  which  often  makes  one  lose  one's 
temper,  and  then  they  score,  as  that  is  what  they  wished 
you  to  do. 


176      WE  REACH  LAKE  RUDOLF 


So  on  this  occasion  I  merely  said  :  "  Men  of  wisdom  and 
learning,  masters  of  guile,  and  sons  of  a  sage,  how  are  the 
porters  going  to  see  your  fire  ?" 

When  the  porters  came  up,  we  proceeded  by  the  light 
of  the  moon,  and  spent  a  dreary  night  trudging  over  the 
lava  till,  shortly  after  midnight,  the  country  became  so 
intersected  and  broken  that  it  was  impossible  to  select  a 
route.    We  therefore  lay  down  to  rest. 

When  dawn  broke,  I  awoke  the  men,  and  while  they 
were  loading  the  camels,  ascended  a  small  peak  near, 
thinking  that  from  the  top  a  view  of  the  lake  would  be 
obtained.  To  my  disappointment,  however,  nothing 
could  be  seen  except  a  lava  ridge,  about  a  mile  in  front 
of  us.  I  consoled  myself  by  thinking  that,  when  we 
reached  this  ridge,  we  ought  certainly  to  see  the  lake. 
So  we  proceeded,  picking  our  way  over  the  broken  lava 
and  always  keeping  our  general  bearings  by  the  sun,  so 
that  we  should  hit  off  the  lake  just  south  of  Mount 
Longendoti. 

When  we  reached  the  ridge,  it  was  necessary  to  choose 
a  good  line  of  ascent  for  the  camels.  On  arriving  at  the 
top,  I  eagerly  looked  for  the  lake,  but  only  another  lava 
ridge  just  in  front  was  visible.  Again  we  had  to  make  a 
detour  to  descend,  and  again  we  climbed  a  ridge,  and 
again  I  was  disappointed  of  my  view  of  the  lake. 

Now  the  sun  was  mounting  up,  and  the  lava  rocks  so 
unbearably  hot  that  it  was  impossible  to  rest  the  hand 
on  them.  Every  moment  I  expected  to  hear  that  some 
of  the  men  were  unable  to  proceed  any  farther,  so  de- 
spondent had  they  grown,  and  still  the  promised  lake 
was  not  in  sight. 

We  laboriously  ascended  another  ridge,  and  as  I  reached 
the  top,  a  most  magnificent  view  opened  out  before  me. 


WE  REACH  LAKE  RUDOLF  177 


There,  far  away  below  me,  was  Lake  Rudolf,  glistening 
in  the  sun,  and  stretching  away  to  the  right  and  left  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  The  country  between  me 
and  the  lake  was  laid  out  like  a  panorama,  and  I  could 
easily  select  the  best  course  to  follow,  which  led  down  by 
a  line  of  spurs  to  a  broad  nullah,  and  thence  along  the 
bottom  to  within  a  few  miles  of  the  lake. 

I  took  but  a  momentary  glance  at  this  picture,  and 
then,  as  the  descent  immediately  in  front  was  too 
steep  for  the  camels,  turned  off  sharp  to  the  left  along 
the  top  of  the  ridge,  to  reach  the  line  of  spurs  I  had 
selected. 

The  tired  porters  and  camels  struggled  up  to  the  top, 
and  then  turned  along  the  ridge  to  follow  me.  So  much 
had  they  lost  heart  that  they  did  not  even  notice  the  lake 
for  some  time,  but  just  plodded  wearily  along.  Suddenly 
I  heard  a  murmuring  of  voices,  and  knew  that  they  had 
seen  it,  and  the  sais  rushed  forward,  saying  :  "  Look, 
master,  look  !" 

I  replied  :  "  What's  the  matter  ?" 

"  Look  there — look  down  below  !" 

I  affected  to  look  at  the  foot  of  the  ridge,  and  said  : 
"  What  is  that  you  are  so  excited  about  %  It  must  be 
elephants.    Where  are  they  ?" 

"  Don't  you  see  Embassu  Narok  ?" 

"Oh,  that  !"  I  replied.  "  Have  you  only  just  seen  it  ? 
What  did  you  imagine  I  was  climbing  up  to  look  at  while 
you  were  loading  the  camels  ?  I  told  you  that  you  were 
going  to  see  Embassu  this  morning,  and  now  you  have 
seen  it,  you  come  and  tell  me  the  news,  as  much  as  to 
say,  '  You  are  not  a  liar,  after  all.'  " 

This,  said  in  a  loud  voice  to  impress  the  men,  had  the 
desired  effect,  for  I  heard  them  murmuring  to  each  other  : 

12 


178      WE  REACH  LAKE  RUDOLF 


"  He  knew  all  the  time,  yet  he  has  never  been  here." 
"  The  white  men  who  measure  stars  are  like  that." 

I  told  the  men  who  carried  the  theodolite  afterwards 
that,  while  measuring  stars  at  Horr,  I  had  found  a  very 
good  one,  which  had  led  us  to  the  water  at  Tumepona 
first,  and  then  taken  us  on  to  the  lake.  This,  told  in 
confidence  one  night,  was  sure  to  have  been  repeated  to 
everyone. 

Although  we  could  now  see  the  lake,  there  was  still  a 
long  way  to  go,  and  we  picked  our  way  down  the  spur 
till  we  reached  a  dry,  sandy  nullah.  Here  was  a  thick 
tree,  giving  good  shade,  called  in  Somali  garas.  Abdi 
was  very  pleased  to  see  this  tree,  as  he  said  that  he  had 
not  seen  one  since  leaving  Somaliland. 

I  found  afterwards  that  the  bush  called  "  succulent 
bush  "  by  Von  Hohnel  was  nothing  more  than  our  old 
friend  the  msuaki  ;  but  from  his  description,  I  jumped  to 
the  conclusion  that  it  was  what  the  Kikuyu  call  nyam- 
bura.  I  had  told  the  men  that  this  would  be  a  sign  by 
which  they  would  recognize  our  camp  on  Rudolf.  I 
fancied  now  that  this  garas  tree  might  be  the  "  succulent 
bush  "  referred  to,  and  it  was  necessary  to  explain  to  the 
men  that  my  words  had  so  far  come  true,  so  that  they 
would  have  more  faith  in  me  another  time. 

So  I  said  to  Abdi  :  "  Behold,  this  is  the  tree  of  which  I 
spoke,  and  which  I  found  written  in  one  of  my  books  of 
learning.  We  have  no  names  for  these  trees  in  my 
language,  but  I  saw  written,  4  a  thick  tree,  on  which  was  a 
berry,5  so  I  said  in  my  heart,  '  It  is  indeed  the  nyambura.' 
Now  I  see  that  it  is  the  garas  tree." 

We  gave  out  water,  but  it  had  grown  so  hot  in  the 
metal  tanks  that  it  was  impossible  to  drink  it  immediately 
it  was  poured  out.    At  three  o'clock  we  moved  on  again, 


WE  REACH  LAKE  RUDOLF  179 


and  as  we  reached  the  lower  country  the  travelling 
grew  better,  and  near  the  lake  it  was  quite  flat  and  good. 
The  sun  set,  and  we  travelled  on,  content  to  think  that 
we  should  reach  the  lake  during  the  night.  At  last  we 
came  to  an  old  level  of  the  lake,  marked  by  a  hippo  skull, 
but  we  had  some  way  to  go  yet. 

The  way  now  led  over  dry,  sun-cracked  mud  for  a 
couple  of  miles,  and  at  last  we  reached  a  fringe  of  grass 
and  reeds  and  the  lake.  We  waded  in,  and  tried  the 
water,  but  it  was  very  vile.  Especially  was  it  bad  here, 
as  the  water  was  very  shallow,  and  the  mud  had  been 
stirred  up  by  numerous  wading  birds  and  ducks.  We 
then  looked  for  a  spot  in  which  to  lie  down  for  the  rest 
of  the  night. 

At  dawn  next  day  we  searched  for  a  suitable  camp.  I 
could  not  locate  Teleki's  camp  in  the  thick  "  succulent 
bush,"  the  only  bush  being  a  long  way  back  from  the 
lake.  His  camp  was  probably  in  that  bush,  but  since  his 
time  the  lake  had  receded  considerably,  and  so  that  would 
have  been  much  too  far  for  the  porters  fetching  water. 

We  found  bush  only  growing  near  the  old  margin  of  the 
lake,  and  between  this  and  the  actual  water  there  was 
from  two  to  three  miles  of  dried,  sun-cracked  mud,  most 
trying  to  walk  over. 

During  our  trek  up  Rudolf  we  had  only  the  option  of 
either  camping  miles  away  from  the  lake  and  getting  a 
little  shade,  or  camping  near  the  water  on  the  bare,  dried 
mud  in  a  shadeless  camp.  The  only  exception  was  where 
the  shore  was  steep  and  rocky,  for  at  such  places  the  sub- 
sidence of  the  lake — a  matter  of  only  six  or  eight  feet,  per- 
haps— did  not  materially  increase  the  distance  of  the 
water,  as  it  did  on  the  almost  level  plain. 

We  could  see  such  a  place  a  mile  or  two  to  the  north, 

12—2 


180      WE  REACH  LAKE  RUDOLF 


where  a  little  cliff — the  tail-end  of  Mount  Longendoti — 
bordered  the  lake,  and  on  the  top  of  this  was  a  little 
clump  of  bush. 

I  had  had  to  give  out  a  full  ration  during  the  night,  but 
to-day  I  hoped  to  obtain  some  game,  and  save  our  fast- 
dimmishing  food-store.  So  I  directed  the  caravan  to 
proceed  to  this  spot,  while  Tengeneza  was  to  try  and  shoot 
a  duck  for  me.  After  trying  for  a  hippo  before  sunrise, 
I  went  to  look  for  game,  taking  with  me  a  porter,  who, 
from  his  slow  gait,  bore  the  nickname  of  Kobe  (Tortoise). 

By  a  fortunate  chance,  I  was  able  to  surprise  a  herd  of 
zebra  in  a  little  dip,  and,  firing,  dropped  one  of  them. 
On  looking  round  for  the  tortoise,  I  found  that  he  had 
lagged  behind,  and  wildly  beckoned  to  him  to  come  and 
perform  the  last  rites.  Instead  of  hurrying  up,  he  stood 
still.  After  I  had  shouted  and  whistled  for  some  time  he 
began  slowly  advancing  again.  I  pointed  to  the  zebra, 
and  proceeded,  hoping  to  get  another. 

However,  the  animal,  who  had  been  lying  as  if  dead, 
suddenly  got  up,  and  galloped  off,  and  we  never  saw  him 
again.  I  must  have  hit  him  in  the  neck,  "  creasing  " 
him.  After  an  ineffectual  effort  to  obtain  something  else, 
I  made  for  camp,  and  asked  Omari  why  he  had  sent  a 
tortoise  with  me  instead  of  a  man.  The  porters  were  very 
annoyed  when  they  heard  what  they  had  missed,  as  they 
love  zebra-meat,  because  it  is  so  fat. 

As  the  game  only  come  down  to  drink  at  the  lake,  after- 
wards going  inland  to  graze,  it  was  no  use  trying  again 
till  the  evening.  Omari  said  that  there  were  a  lot  of 
fish  near  the  shore,  and  suggested  that  we  should  try  to 
net  them  with  calico.  So  some  lengths  of  calico  were 
given  out,  and  we  waded  into  the  lake,  some  holding  the 
calico,  and  others  driving  fish  into  it. 


WE  REACH  LAKE  RUDOLF  181 


We  were  not  very  successful,  as  we  did  not  catch  any- 
thing bigger  than  an  inch  or  two  in  length  ;  but  we  got 
some  nice  little  fish  like  whitebait,  which  made  quite  good 
eating.  The  men  soon  got  bored  with  this,  however,  as 
whitebait  was  much  too  delicate  for  their  palates,  which 
required  to  be  tickled  with  a  few  pounds  of  meat  apiece. 
I  tried  fishing  with  a  line,  but  the  first  fish  that  came 
broke  it. 

The  wealth  of  bird-life  on  the  lake  is  remarkable.  A 
few  yards  from  the  shore  there  is  one  long  line  of  aquatic 
birds  the  whole  length  of  the  lake.  The  east  side  is 
generally  very  shallow,  while  I  believe  the  west  side  is 
deeper,  and  the  banks  more  precipitous. 

In  most  places  where  we  camped  one  could  wade  out 
several  hundred  yards  into  the  lake,  and  still  the  water 
would  only  be  knee-deep.  This  shallow  water,  contain- 
ing multitudinous  small  fish,  affords  a  capital  fishing- 
ground  for  the  aquatic  birds.  Sometimes  great  flocks 
of  geese  and  ducks  may  be  seen  together,  and  connecting 
these  flocks  is  one  continuous,  unbroken  line  of  other 
birds,  such  as  pelicans,  plover,  cranes,  divers,  cormorants, 
and  a  multitude  of  other  fish-eaters.  After  the  utter 
silence  of  the  uninhabited  solitudes  through  which  we  had 
passed,  the  Babel  of  quacks  and  caws  in  the  early  morning, 
and  the  splashings  of  the  birds,  was  most  refreshing. 

In  the  afternoon  some  haul  came  near  camp,  and  I 
secured  some  of  them.  Whilst  we  were  clearing  a  spot 
for  the  tent,  an  unopened  tin  was  found,  which  showed 
that  some  white  men  had  camped  here.  It  was  opened 
by  Sadi  in  great  excitement,  and  he  pronounced  it  to  be 
tea.    When  they  tried  it,  however,  it  proved  to  be  hops. 

I  was  able  to  assuage  his  disappointment,  as  I  had 
brought  a  lot  of  spare  tea,  which  I  distributed  at  intervals 


182      WE  REACH  LAKE  RUDOLF 


amongst  the  headmen  and  boys,  whilst  for  the  porters 
I  had  tobacco  and  cigarette-papers.  The  latter  I  did 
not  produce  until  I  knew  that  everybody  had  run  out, 
which  was  not  long  after  leaving  Rumuruti.  Tengeneza 
had  shot  some  ducks,  and  so,  with  one  of  these  and  white- 
bait, the  dinner  was  excellent,  although  it  was  marred  by 
the  filthy  water. 

From  Von  Hohnel's  account  of  Teleki's  trip  I  gathered 
that  it  was  impossible  to  follow  the  lake-shore  here,  as 
Mount  Longendoti  rises  too  precipitously  out  of  the 
water.  His  party  proceeded  behind  Longendoti,  and 
reached  the  lake  again  at  Alia  Bay. 

On  this  march  they  obtained  water  by  digging  at  the 
first  camp,  and  then  had  a  trying,  waterless  march  till 
they  found  a  little  water,  but  not  sufficient  for  his 
numerous  followers,  in  a  basalt  ravine.  I  was  not  sure 
if  I  should  be  able  to  locate  this  spot  from  his  description, 
so  we  had  to  be  prepared  to  march  to  Alia  without  water. 

With  this  in  my  mind,  I  announced  to  the  men  that 
we  must  push  on  that  night,  and  would  have  to  leave  the 
lake,  but  would  meet  it  again  on  the  third  day,  or  perhaps 
the  second  if  we  marched  well.  They  implored  me  not  to 
leave  the  lake,  but  to  follow  it  up,  so  that  we  might  have 
water  every  night.  I  then  asked  them  :  "  Who  found 
this  lake  ?    Was  it  you  or  was  it  me  V9 

They  replied  :  "  It  was  you,  bwana." 

"  And  did  you  see  it  on  the  day  I  said  you  would,  or 
did  you  not  %" 

"  Yes,  we  saw  it." 

I  said  :  "  Then  it  is  my  lake  to  leave  if  I  wish,  and  on 
the  day  that  I  say  you  will  see  it  again,  you  will  see  it." 

They  replied  :  "  But  cannot  you  follow  the  shore,  so 
that  we  may  have  water  every  day  ?" 


WE  REACH  LAKE  RUDOLF  183 


I  answered  :  "  Is  there  anyone  amongst  you  who  knows 
the  way  V9 

They  replied  :  "  No  ;  how  can  we  know  the  way  in  a 
strange  country  ?" 

Then  I  answered  :  "  If  there  is  none  here  who  knows 
the  way,  you  must  take  my  counsel,  for  I  know  the  way, 
and  my  plan  is  this  :  We  cannot  follow  the  shore,  for  there 
is  a  mountain  that  rises  out  of  the  lake.  Had  you  been 
baboons,  you  might  have  taken  that  way,  but  you  are 
only  men.  Therefore  we  must  pass  behind  this  moun- 
tain. We  will  travel  to-night  and  to-morrow,  and  then 
we  may  find  a  small  spring  of  water  in  the  mountains  ; 
but  this  spring  of  which  I  speak  may  be  dried  up,  so  we 
may  not  be  able  to  find  it. 

"  On  the  next  day  we  will  journey  on  and  reach  the 
lake  again.  There  you  will  certainly  get  water  the  day 
after  to  morrow,  and  you  may  also  have  some  to-morrow." 

This  point  having  been  settled,  it  only  remained  to 
decide  on  the  hour  of  departure  most  suitable  to  the 
phase  of  the  moon.  This  proved  to  be  two  o'clock,  so  I 
gave  the  order  for  the  camels  to  commence  loading  at 
midnight. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


A  LUCKY  FIND  OF  WATER 

According  to  Von  Hohnel's  map,  we  had  to  round  the 
southern  end  of  Mount  Longendoti,  and  then  march 
parallel  with  this  mountain,  which  runs  due  north  and 
south.  We  rounded  the  end,  and  then  I  endeavoured 
to  strike  northwards,  but  we  struck  a  stony  country,  inter- 
sected with  ravines,  which  made  very  indifferent  travelling 
at  night,  as  it  was  impossible  to  select  a  good  line. 

As  we  topped  the  edge  of  one  of  these  ravines,  the 
most  appalling  roar  suddenly  burst  upon  our  ears  from 
close  at  hand.  Wondering  what  this  unknown  savage 
beast  could  be,  I  slipped  the  safety-catch  of  my  rifle,  and 
prepared  for  the  worst.  Then  the  sound  tailed  off  into 
the  loud,  raucous  bray  of  a  Grevy's  zebra,  and  I  felt  rather 
foolish  at  having  been  startled  by  nothing. 

Von  Hohnel  mentions  several  times  how  he  and  Teleki 
often  mistook  this  sound  for  a  lion's  roar.  I  was  not 
struck  with  the  resemblance  myself,  the  sound  being  more 
like  a  very  powerful  donkey's  bray  than  anything  else. 
So  great  is  the  resemblance  that  the  first  time  I  heard 
this  sound  at  night,  which  was  at  Lesirikan,  I  thought 
that  some  of  our  donkeys  had  broken  loose,  and  called  out 
to  Abdi,  who  was  sleeping  by  them,  to  count  them. 
This  braying  sound  is  sometimes  commenced  with  a  roar 
like  that  of  a  camel. 

184 


A  LUCKY  FIND  OF  WATER  185 


As  the  country  was  so  intersected  near  Longendoti,  I 
thought  it  advisable  to  give  that  mountain  a  wide  berth, 
and  so  struck  eastwards  till  we  reached  more  level  country, 
and  then  northwards  again.  In  this  way  we  met  with 
very  fair  country,  over  which  we  marched  well.  High 
ground  gradually  began  to  appear  on  our  right,  and  as 
dawn  broke  we  found  ourselves  following  up  a  valley 
about  four  miles  broad,  between  Longendoti  and  this 
high  ground.  On  our  right  was  a  many-peaked  hill  of 
white  and  yellow  earth  and  lava. 

Close  under  this  hill  we  could  see  from  the  trees  along 
it  that  there  was  a  watercourse.  At  one  spot  the  trees 
looked  green,  and  so  I  sent  the  sais  off  to  investigate 
the  river-bed  at  this  place,  and  see  if  there  was  any  chance 
of  obtaining  water  by  digging.  I  told  him  to  follow  up 
the  river-bed,  which  came  from  the  direction  in  which 
we  were  proceeding,  and  to  stick  a  spear  into  the  sand  at 
intervals,  and  see  if  it  was  moist  at  the  tip. 

In  every  other  direction  the  country  looked  most 
forlorn  and  desolate,  being  covered  with  little  flat-topped 
hills  and  miniature  plateaux  of  ashes  and  volcanic  debris, 
looking  like  the  mounds  of  waste  thrown  out  from  mines 
more  than  anything  else.  Some  of  the  mounds  were  of 
soft,  powdery  volcanic  ash,  which  flew  up  in  clouds  when 
trodden  on.  This  afforded  a  proof  how  very  minute  the 
rainfall  must  be  in  this  part,  as  one  good  downpour  would 
have  washed  away  a  mound  of  this  description.  In 
front  of  us  the  valley  narrowed  as  the  high  ground  on  the 
right  neared,  and  finally  met  with  Longendoti.  For  this 
point  of  junction  we  steered. 

Shortly  after  dawn  Narok,  trotting  along  briskly,  as 
she  did  before  the  sun  rose,  came  over  a  little  lava  ridge, 
and  suddenly  came  face  to  face  with  a  civet-cat,  which  had 


186      A  LUCKY  FIND  OF  WATER 


been  lying  in  a  little  hollow  in  the  lava,  caused  by  an 
air-bubble  when  the  rock  was  in  a  molten  state.  The 
civet-cat  jumped  up,  with  bristles  standing  erect,  a  truly 
fearsome-looking  object.  The  two  animals  stood  facing 
each  other,  not  two  yards  apart,  each  struck  with  the  un- 
wonted appearance  of  the  other.  What  would  have  been 
the  next  act  in  this  little  drama  I  do  not  know,  for  at  that 
moment  the  civet-cat  saw  me  close  by,  and  turned  and 
fled,  Narok  giving  chase,  but  being  very  careful  not  to 
make  a  tremendous  effort  to  catch  it. 

Presently  we  met  with  a  herd  of  haul,  and  I  had  a  shot 
and  wounded  a  good  male,  but  he  made  off.  Narok 
followed,  and  pulled  him  down  three  times,  but  each  time 
I  was  afraid  to  fire  for  fear  of  hitting  the  dog.  Finally 
the  haul  got  away  and  disappeared  over  the  stony  rise 
eastwards.  At  the  same  time  the  sais  came  back  with  the 
news  that  he  could  not  find  any  signs  of  water. 

The  chase  had  taken  us  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
the  caravan,  and  as  this  had  all  been  performed  at  a  run, 
I  felt  more  dry  and  thirsty  than  usual,  and  decided  to 
break  my  rule  and  drink  from  my  water-bottle  for  the 
first  time  during  a  march.  Then  I  thought  of  the  filthy 
Rudolf  water,  now  hot  and  puggy  in  my  water-bottle, 
and  what  a  pity  it  was  that,  having  made  up  my  mind 
to  an  excess,  there  was  nothing  nice  to  drink.  Then  a 
brilliant  idea  struck  me  :  I  would  put  some  cocoa  into 
the  water,  just  as  it  was,  and  shake  it  up.  This  I  did 
during  the  rest  of  our  trip  up  Rudolf,  and  although  it 
did  not  quite  disguise  the  taste,  it  made  it  ever  so  much 
better. 

As  we  proceeded,  a  steep-sided  ravine  in  the  side  of 
Longendoti  came  into  view.  It  did  not  look  like  Teleki's 
basalt  ravine,  but  might  contain  water,  so  I  sent  Masharia, 


A  LUCKY  FIND  OF  WATER  187 


the  Kikuyu,  to  investigate.  Just  beyond  this  was 
another  deep  ravine,  also  in  the  side  of  Longendoti,  and 
it  was  from  this  that  the  watercourse  in  the  valley  took 
its  origin. 

Directly  I  saw  it  I  thought  that,  if  there  was  water 
in  the  neighbourhood  at  all,  it  would  be  there,  so  I  led 
the  caravan  straight  across  to  it,  although  it  was  some- 
what out  of  our  way.  My  idea  was  that,  if  there  was  no 
water,  we  should  find  shade  under  its  precipitous  sides 
in  which  to  pass  the  middle  of  the  day  before  moving  on 
in  the  afternoon. 

As  we  drew  near  we  passed  the  watercourse,  which 
had  taken  a  sharp  turn  towards  the  mountain,  and  here, 
in  the  sandy  bed,  was  a  little  tuft  of  grass,  greener  than 
any  I  had  seen  for  days.  This  was  a  good  sign,  but  on 
the  bank  above  there  was  a  better  one — converging  game 
tracks  leading  into  the  ravine,  and  on  one  of  these  was 
the  fresh  spoor  of  zebra.  Zebra  do  not  walk  into  a 
ravine  like  this  without  reason,  so  I  had  high  hopes, 
although  I  did  not  mention  them  to  the  men. 

The  track  led  us  into  the  ravine  on  a  little  ledge  of 
rock  above  the  watercourse,  and  just  inside  I  saw  below 
me  a  wall  of  black  rock  across  the  ravine,  and  at  the  foot 
of  this  a  little  pool  of  green  water.  The  sais  was  with  me, 
so  I  told  him  to  go  down  and  see  if  it  was  fresh.  When 
he  tried  it  he  said  it  was  sweet  and  good,  so  I  went  out 
and  shouted  to  the  men  outside  not  to  follow  the  rocky 
path  I  had  taken,  but  to  bring  the  camels  up  the  sandy 
floor  of  the  watercourse.  As  they  entered  the  ravine 
below  me,  I  said  :  "  There  is  the  spring  I  promised 

you." 

I  wondered  whether  this  was  Teleki's  ravine.  There 
were  no  columns  of  basalt  here,  or  broken  pillars  lying 


188      A  LUCKY  FIND  OF  WATER 


about  on  the  ground,  as  he  had  described.  Perhaps 
Teleki's  basalt  columns  were  higher  up  this  ravine.  Any- 
how, the  water  looked  green  and  dirty,  and  there  might 
be  better  water  farther  up,  so  I  started  up  the  narrow 
ravine,  which  wound  into  the  heart  of  the  mountain, 
enclosed  by  perpendicular  walls  on  either  side.  Here  and 
there  was  a  wall  of  rock  to  be  climbed,  but  generally  the 
bottom  of  the  watercourse  formed  a  flat  sandy  road 
winding  into  the  hills. 

This  ravine  in  the  black  lava  rocks  reminded  me 
irresistibly  of  the  winding  nullahs  above  the  upper  tanks 
of  Aden.  The  only  living  things  to  be  seen  here  were 
a  few  ravens,  birds  which  truly  love  the  solitude. 

After  proceeding  a  mile  or  so,  I  thought  of  my  poor 
camels,  waiting  to  be  unloaded.  As  no  one  had  followed 
me,  all  being  much  too  engrossed  in  sampling  the  water, 
I  had  to  return  myself  to  arrange  for  pitching  camp. 

The  wind  blew  straight  into  the  ravine,  and  animals 
came  in  here  to  drink,  so  if  camp  was  hidden  away  some- 
where inside,  it  might  be  possible  to  secure  a  zebra,  or 
perhaps  even  a  lion,  at  night  by  sitting  over  the  water. 
Thinking  out  this  problem  on  my  return  journey,  I  chose 
a  spot  inside  the  ravine  where  camp-fires  would  be 
invisible  from  the  outside.  When  I  got  back  to  the  water, 
I  found  a  steep,  stony  path  on  one  side  of  the  wall  of  rock, 
but  the  camels  might  not  be  able  to  mount  this.  Any- 
how, we  would  try. 

The  individual  temperaments  of  camels  differ  much 
more  than  do  those  of  horses,  and  by  now  we  knew  the 
character  of  all  our  camels  well.  So  I  consulted  with 
Abdi  as  to  which  should  be  made  to  essay  this  feat  first. 
Finally,  we  decided  on  the  two  camels  led  by  a  fat  little 
youth  called  Yusufu.    These  were  our  two  quietest  ones, 


A  LUCKY  FIND  OF  WATER  189 


and  one  of  these  had  been  used,  so  the  Rendile  who  sold 
it  said,  to  carry  children  from  one  kraal  to  another  when 
changing  quarters. 

"  The  breaker  of  vessels,"  as  I  called  the  camel  which 
had  upset  and  broken  hans  in  the  Elges,  would  probably 
give  the  most  trouble,  so  I  gave  orders  for  this  one  and  a 
few  of  the  most  troublesome  to  be  unloaded  outside. 
Then,  with  smacks  and  "  Oh-oh's  !"  (the  noise  made  by 
the  Rendile  to  encourage  camels,  meaning  "Gee-up!"), 
we  induced  the  whole  caravan  to  go  up  the  steep  path 
and  into  the  watercourse  beyond.  The  men  then  brought 
in  the  spare  loads,  and  we  pitched  camp  on  the  sandy 
floor. 

As  there  was  only  a  thin  layer  of  sand  over  the  lava 
rock,  it  was  impossible  to  drive  in  pegs,  and  so  the  tent- 
ropes  had  to  be  tied  to  blocks  of  rock. 

The  water  had  appeared  very  foul  at  first  sight,  looking 
thick  and  greenish,  while  the  rocks  around  were  covered 
with  droppings  of  birds  and  baboons.  However, 
now  I  came  to  taste  it,  I  found  that  its  appearance 
belied  it,  for  it  was  cool  and  sweet,  infinitely  superior 
to  the  filthy  water  of  Rudolf. 

In  the  afternoon  I  sallied  out,  accompanied  by  Maja- 
liwa  and  two  of  the  men,  to  look  for  game.  We  had  a 
long  and  tiring  walk  over  the  volcanic  debris,  and  saw 
nothing.  Turning  round,  disgusted,  we  made  for  home, 
but  on  the  way  Majaliwa  spotted  two  haul  on  a  distant 
lava  ridge.  They  had  not  seen  us,  and,  knowing  how 
short  were  our  food-supplies,  I  determined  to  do  my 
best  to  shoot  them.  There  was  but  little  cover  to  be  had, 
and  the  stalking  entailed  a  long  and  painful  crawl  over  the 
sharp  and  baking  lava  rocks.  Several  times  I  got  up 
close  enough  to  shoot,  but  as  they  were  moving  all  the 


190      A  LUCKY  FIND  OF  WATER 


time,  they  passed  out  of  sight  before  I  could  get  a  steady 
aim. 

At  last  I  got  up  again,  but  this  time  the  alarm  was 
given  by  four  other  gazelle,  which  had,  unknown  to  me, 
formed  part  of  the  herd.  They  all  bolted  save  one,  which 
stood  a  moment,  and  I  bowled  him  over,  and  then, 
jumping  up,  fired  three  long  shots  into  the  remainder, 
and  bagged  two  of  them. 

Majaliwa  and  his  followers  did  not  give  them  much 
chance  of  getting  up  again,  but  dashed  at  them  and 
finished  them  off.  I  said  :  "  You  don't  take  so  long  over 
that  as  the  Tortoise."  "  No,"  replied  Majaliwa  ;  "no 
more  Tortoise  for  us.    We  are  all  very  hungry." 

Leaving  the  three  men  to  cut  up  the  meat,  I  went  off 
to  make  a  little  detour  on  my  own  account  before  return- 
ing to  camp.  Just  north  of  our  ravine  was  another,  and 
out  of  it  issued  a  similar  watercourse,  flowing  eastwards, 
the  only  difference  being  that,  after  flowing  for  a  few 
miles,  it  took  a  sharp  bend  to  the  north,  instead  of  to  the 
south,  as  did  ours.  Between  these  two  watercourses  was 
a  neck  of  high  ground  joining  Longendoti  to  the  hills 
eastward. 

I  wondered  if  this  could  be  Teleki's  basalt  ravine,  and 
so  paid  it  a  visit.  The  sandy  watercourse  led  into  a 
narrow,  deep-cut  ravine,  with  perpendicular  sides,  but 
there  was  no  resemblance  to  the  picture  given  in  Von 
Hohnel's  book,  and  so  I  decided  that  it  was  not  his 
ravine.  A  lion  spoor  led  up  the  sandy  bed  of  the  nullah, 
and  if  I  had  hit  this  off  in  daylight,  I  could  have  followed 
him  to  his  retreat. 

Now,  however,  the  sun  had  set,  and  so  I  hurried  back, 
as  I  might  not  be  able  to  find  my  way  over  the  lava 
ridges  in  the  dark.    It  was  dark  before  I  reached  the 


A  LUCKY  FIND  OF  WATER  191 


ravine,  and  I  came  out  on  the  high  cliff  above  it,  and  saw 
a  search-party  going  out  with  the  lamp  to  look  for  me. 
I  called  to  them  to  show  me  the  way  down  the  cliff,  and 
when  they  had  done  this,  despatched  the  lamp  to  meet 
the  party  bringing  in  the  meat. 

The  three  gazelles  would  only  feed  the  men  for  one 
day,  and  so  that  night  Tengeneza  and  I  sat  over  the 
water-hole,  hoping  to  obtain  a  zebra  or  a  lion.  Such 
was  the  difficulty  in  securing  meat  for  the  men  in  this 
country,  and  while  continually  on  the  move,  that,  had  the 
two  animals  presented  themselves  together,  I  should 
have  had  to  choose  the  former.  Tengeneza  went  to  sleep 
at  once,  making  no  pretence  of  keeping  awake. 

At  eleven  o'clock  I  woke  him,  and  we  returned  to  camp. 
At  five  next  morning  the  night-watchman  woke  me,  and 
Narok  and  I  went  to  see  if  anything  would  come  to  drink 
in  the  morning.  Nothing,  however,  came,  although 
Narok  once  pricked  up  her  ears  as  if  she  had  smelt  some- 
thing. 

We  started  away  again  the  same  day.  The  pool  of 
water  was  now  sensibly  diminished,  and  would  not  have 
supported  us  for  more  than  a  day  more.  Shortly  after 
leaving  camp  we  met  a  zebra,  which  I  was  lucky  enough 
to  bag.  We  cut  him  up,  and  fastened  the  meat  on  the 
camels.  He  was  full  of  water  to  bursting-point,  and 
must  have  drunk  within  the  hour.  As  he  had  not  been 
to  our  ravine,  it  was  only  left  to  me  to  conclude  that  there 
must  be  water  in  the  second  ravine  in  which  I  saw  the 
lion's  spoor. 

We  followed  parallel  with  the  watercourse  flowing 
northwards.  Towards  evening  it  suddenly  entered  a 
ravine,  and,  on  looking  down,  I  immediately  recognized 
Teleki's  basalt  ravine,  with  the  broken  columns  of 


192      A  LUCKY  FIND  OF  WATER 

different  sizes  lying  on  the  ground.  The  caravan  passed 
above  it,  but  Bakari,  the  cook,  and  I  descended  and 
searched  for  water.  The  place  described  by  Von  Hohnel 
was  easily  recognizable  now,  but  there  was  not  a  drop  of 
water,  although  there  had  been  a  little  fairly  recently. 
Some  doves  sat  cooing  on  the  walls,  and  their  presence 
is  generally  a  sign  of  water,  but  an  exhaustive  search 
failed  to  bring  any  to  light. 

Many  times  during  the  last  two  days  I  had  tried  to 
picture  Teleki's  enormous  caravan  travelling  through  the 
selfsame  desolate  waste  as  we  had  just  traversed,  till  the 
picture  had  grown  quite  familiar  to  me.  It  was  hard, 
however,  to  imagine  this  lonely  ravine  peopled  by  his  two 
hundred  followers,  pushing  and  jostling  each  other, 
shouting  and  righting  for  the  little  water  there  was,  as 
described  in  the  account  of  his  travels. 

We  proceeded  northwards,  bivouacking  that  night,  and 
reaching  Alia  Bay  next  morning.  Here  Teleki  and  the 
other  travellers  who  have  passed  met  with  two  fishing 
villages  on  little  flat  islands  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the 
shore.  There  was  not  a  sign  of  the  Elmolo,  as  these 
people  are  called,  or  any  trace  of  human  habitation.  The 
Elmolo  consist  of  a  mixed  community  of  fisher-folk, 
drawn  from  the  outcasts  of  different  tribes  living  round 
Rudolf,  such  as  Reshiat,  Turkana,  and  Samburr. 

We  followed  round  the  bay  to  its  north  side.  It 
seemed  to  have  shrunk  considerably,  and  when  we  reached 
here  the  reason  for  the  absence  of  the  Elmolo  was  apparent, 
for  their  islands  were  now  dry  land,  and  half  a  mile  from 
the  lake's  margin.  Being  a  very  weak  community,  a 
village  on  the  mainland,  where  they  were  open  to  the 
attack  of  anyone  who  chose  to  raid  them,  was  not 
according  to  their  taste.    On  their  islands  they  were 


A  LUCKY  FIND  OF  WATER  193 


perfectly  immune  from  attack,  as  none  of  the  people 
likely  to  visit  this  spot  are  able  to  obtain  canoes. 

I  was  much  disappointed  at  not  meeting  these  people, 
as  I  wanted  to  have  an  opportunity  of  making  inquiries 
as  to  their  customs  and  habits,  and  also  their  language 
and  origin.  Their  canoes,  I  suppose,  are  made  on  the 
Omo  River,  as  there  is  not  a  tree  on  any  other  part  of 
Rudolf  out  of  which  so  much  as  a  pig-trough  could  be 
made.  When  we  had  passed  through  this  desolate,  un- 
inhabited part,  and  once  again  reached  human  beings,  we 
heard  that  the  Elmolo  had  taken  refuge  on  Centre  Island, 
one  of  three  rocky  peaks  situated  in  the  middle  of  the  lake. 

Round  the  edge  of  the  lake  here  was  a  certain  amount 
of  grass,  but  between  this  belt  of  grass,  several  hundred 
yards  wide,  and  the  old  shore  of  the  lake  was  an  expanse  of 
dried,  sun-baked  mud,  several  miles  across.  Over  this  dried 
mud  travelling  was  especially  loathsome,  as  the  feet  sank 
into  the  cracks  and  the  caked  surface  gave  way  as  one 
trod  on  it. 

The  hot  wind  of  the  Borana  country  was  not  so  powerful 
here.  One  also  discovered  that  it  was  the  sweeping  over 
the  lava  and  sand  plains  which  made  it  so  hot.  Here, 
in  the  grassy  fringe  of  the  lake,  if  there  was  only  a  hundred 
yards  of  grass  to  the  east  of  one,  the  heat  of  the  wind 
was  not  oppressive  ;  in  fact,  by  comparison,  it  appeared 
quite  cool. 

In  Alia  Bay  the  only  kind  of  bushes  close  to  the  water 
are  a  few  tamarisks,  only  a  foot  or  two  in  height.  To 
obtain  anything  better  in  the  way  of  shade  it  would  have 
been  necessary  to  camp  four  miles  from  the  lake.  This 
being  the  case,  we  chose  the  site  of  an  old  Elmolo  village 
on  which  to  pitch  our  tents,  as  here  was  a  little  patch  of 
sand  rising  above  the  level  of  the  sun-cracked  mud. 

13 


194      A  LUCKY  FIND  OF  WATER 


The  wind  sweeping  over  this  expanse  was  scorching  in 
our  shadeless  camp,  and  my  camp-table  was  so  hot  under 
the  tent  that  I  could  not  bear  my  hand  on  it.  There  was 
a  considerable  quantity  of  game  —  oryx,  zebra,  topi, 
and  haul — but  it  was  impossible  to  get  near  any  of  them 
on  the  absolutely  flat,  dry  mud. 

One  of  the  porters,  going  through  the  grass  patch  to 
draw  water,  said  that  he  ran  up  against  a  buffalo,  which 
chased  him  ;  but  when  I  went  down  to  look  at  the  spoor, 
I  doubted  the  story,  as  I  could  only  find  tracks  of  a  few 
days  old.  Natives  see  no  difference  between  an  old 
spoor  and  seeing  an  animal,  and  I  have  very  often  had 
natives  rush  in  to  tell  me  that  they  have  just  seen  an 
animal  when  in  reality  they  have  only  seen  spoor. 

Tengeneza  brought  in  nine  ducks'  eggs  which  he  had 
found.  Curiously  enough,  natives  seldom,  if  ever,  eat 
eggs,  and  amongst  different  tribes  there  are  various  super- 
stitions concerning  the  eating  of  them.  These  were  a 
godsend  to  me,  as  I  had  not  tasted  eggs  since  leaving 
Rumuruti,  two  months  ago. 

In  the  evening  there  was  a  plague  of  small  green  flies 
off  the  lake.  These  flies  are  especially  bad  at  certain 
times  of  the  year  on  Lake  Victoria,  and  sweep  up  with  the 
wind  in  clouds,  covering  everything  in  their  path.  They 
effectually  stop  reading  and  writing  at  night,  as  they  put 
out  the  lamp,  and  cover  books  and  paper  in  myriads. 

On  checking  the  food-supply,  I  found  that  there  were 
only  three  bags  left.  This  meant  but  four  days'  full 
rations,  or  eight  days'  half  rations.  I  had  been  unable  to 
obtain  any  game  on  the  bare  plain  here,  and  we  could  not 
be  less  than  eight  days  reaching  the  Omo  River.  Our 
position  for  food  now  was  thus  as  serious  as  our  want  of 
water  had  been.    Had  there  been  elephant  or  rhino  in 


A  LUCKY  FIND  OF  WATER  195 


plenty,  as  in  Teleki's  time,  it  would  have  been  easy  to 
secure  enough  meat  and  to  spare  ;  but,  alas  !  these  days 
were  past,  and  now  only  remained  keen-eyed  oryx, 
gazelle,  and  zebra  on  the  perfectly  bare,  open  plain 

My  porters  begged  me  to  let  them  rest  here  a  day  or 
two.  but  this  could  not  be  done  To  them  the  future  was 
as  nothing,  so  long  as  we  had  a  bag  or  two  of  food  left  : 
they  were  content  to  dwell  in  the  present  only.  To  me, 
however,  the  daily  increasing  dread  of  seeing  my  last 
ration  given  out  before  we  had  reached  an  inhabited 
country  was  an  ever-present  source  of  anxiety.  Long 
after  the  men  had  turned  in  to  peaceful  slumber  I  used 
to  measure  off  the  marches  remaining  before  we  reached 
the  Omo  again  and  again,  and  wonder  if  even  there  we 
should  obtain  the  food  we  required  so  badly. 


13—2 


CHAPTER  XIV 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  UNINHABITED  TEACT 

I  was  heartily  glad  to  leave  our  shadeless  camp  at  Alia 
the  day  after  we  arrived  there.  The  usual  method  of 
travelling  now  was  to  fill  up  water-tanks  and  start  soon 
after  twelve  o'clock,  and  travel  through  the  afternoon 
till  it  grew  dark.  So,  as  we  often  left  the  lake  for  a  few 
miles,  cutting  across  from  bay  to  bay,  we  did  not  trouble 
to  reach  the  water's  edge  that  night,  but  just  bivouacked 
wherever  we  happened  to  be. 

The  following  morning  we  started  on  with  the  moon, 
which  now  rose  late,  and  trekked  as  long  as  we  could  into 
the  next  day,  or  till  we  found  a  very  favourable  camp 
near  the  lake.  We  then  halted  and  pitched  camp,  re- 
maining till  the  following  noon.  Thus,  although  we 
marched  each  day,  and  bivouacked  and  camped  alternate 
nights,  we  had  every  other  day  a  rest  of  twenty-four 
hours  in  camp.  This  mode  of  progression  was  less  trying 
to  men  and  animals  than  an  early  start  every  day. 

Shortly  after  leaving  Alia  Bay  I  secured  a  haul,  an  oryx, 
and  a  greater  bustard,  all  of  which  we  fastened  on  the 
camels.  We  then  went  on  till  dark,  and  bivouacked  some 
distance  from  the  lake.  Shortly  after  dark  we  heard  a 
lion  roaring  as  he  came  from  inland  towards  the  lake, 
presumably  to  drink.  The  lion  generally  kills  first,  and 
then  drinks  in  the  early  hours  of  the  evening.    In  these 

196 


LAST  OF  UNINHABITED  TRACT  197 


arid  plains  I  noticed  that  they  usually  drank  shortly 
after  dark. 

We  moved  on  next  morning  before  dawn,  and  at  ten 
o'clock  found  a  dry  watercourse,  with  some  thorn-trees 
and  a  certain  amount  of  shade,  so  we  decided  to  camp 
here,  although  it  necessitated  a  walk  of  a  couple  of  miles 
to  draw  water.  The  reason  we  camped  so  early  was  that, 
shortly  after  starting  at  night,  we  had  heard  the  sound  of 
distant  drumming  coming  from  the  north-east.  The 
rhythm  was  exactly  the  same  as  that  we  had  heard  in 
the  Elges. 

Just  before  dawn  the  sound  ceased.  As  any  kraal  here 
must  in  all  probability  draw  water  from  the  lake,  I  ex- 
pected to  cut  across  some  tracks  of  either  men  or  camels, 
but  there  was  not  a  sign  of  any  human  being,  nor  had 
there  been  since  we  left  Kalacha.  This  drumming 
puzzled  me,  and  so  we  camped  early,  and  I  sent  search- 
parties  in  different  directions  to  look  for  smoke  or  human 
footsteps,  while  I  set  out  to  augment  the  meat-supply. 

Grass  and  game  were  now  more  plentiful  than  they  had 
been  for  a  long  time,  and,  moreover,  the  country  lent 
itself  more  to  stalking.  I  obtained  a  gazelle  and  a  fine 
bull  oryx,  and  so — for  another  day,  at  least — I  was  able 
to  save  my  food-stores. 

Tengeneza  very  kindly  kept  me  in  ducks,  but  I  regretted 
much  that,  now  there  was  such  a  glut  of  birds  for  the  table, 
I  could  not  enjoy  them  as  I  might  have  done  in  a  colder 
climate.  Owing  to  the  disturbing  influence  of  the  lake 
water  and  the  heat,  I  was  unable  to  eat  more  than  a 
couple  of  slices  off  a  duck's  breast  daily.  The  extra- 
ordinary aridity  of  the  atmosphere  dried  up  the  re- 
mainder of  the  bird  to  such  an  extent  that  it  was  uneat- 
able the  next  day. 


198    LAST  OF  UNINHABITED  TRACT 


The  search-parties  returned,  having  failed  to  find  any 
signs  of  human  beings,  and  the  porters  were  confirmed 
in  their  own  conclusions  as  to  the  origin  of  the  mysterious 
sounds  we  had  heard. 

Having  had  a  short  day's  march  and  a  good  feed,  the 
men's  spirits  had  risen  considerably,  as  could  easily  be 
told  by  their  noisy  conversation  during  the  evening. 
Happy-go-lucky  children,  they  had  no  thought  about  the 
time  when  our  food-stores  would  give  out,  or  misgiving  lest 
I  should  not  be  able  to  shoot  them  meat  in  the  future. 
With  their  stomachs  full,  they  lived  only  in  the  present, 
and  forgot  even  to  anticipate  the  heat  and  burden  of  the 
morrow's  march.  Narok  also  found  it  pleasant  enough  : 
a  good  feed  and  plenty  of  water,  and  a  cool,  refreshing 
breeze  off  the  lake — what  more  could  she  want  ? 

I  alone  amongst  the  whole  caravan  felt  anxious  as  to 
the  future,  as  I  watched  the  camels  growing  weaker  daily, 
and  worked  out  a  hundred  times  how  long  our  remaining 
food  could  last,  and  what  distance  we  should  traverse  in 
that  time. 

I  am  afraid  that  I  must  have  been  very  trying  to  the 
men  these  days,  as  the  constant  anxiety  about  food,  the 
daily  petty  worries  and  difficulties  to  be  overcome,  and 
a  bad  knee,  which  prevented  my  sleeping  at  night,  com- 
bined to  make  me  very  irritable  and  cross.  The  men, 
however,  if  they  noticed  this,  with  characteristic  good- 
humour,  failed  to  be  annoyed  by  it,  but  went  about  their 
work  much  as  usual,  sometimes  forgetting  the  most 
necessary  and  daily  duties,  such  as  refilling  the  water- 
barrels,  and  at  other  times  surprising  me  with  their 
willingness  and  obedience. 

Although  they  ignored  my  irritability,  they  did  not 
treat  Omari  with  equal  tolerance.    Omari  was  willing 


LAST  OF  UNINHABITED  TRACT  199 


and  hard-working,  but,  somehow,  he  could  never  make 
the  porters  do  as  he  wished — on  the  contrary,  he  seemed 
to  act  on  them  as  a  red  rag  to  a  bull.  He  was  constant 
in  his  complaints  of  their  refusal  to  carry  out  my  orders, 
and  I  tried  again  and  again  to  support  his  authority, 
but  without  success.  I  had  only  to  give  an  order  through 
him  to  feel  certain  that  it  would  not  be  carried  out, 
whereas  if  I  gave  it  myself,  or  through  Abdi  or  Kitabu 
(the  second  in  command  of  the  porters),  it  was,  with  rare 
exceptions,  immediately  performed. 

If  I  had  abandoned  earlier  my  attempt  to  establish 
Omari's  authority,  much  friction  would  have  been  saved. 
Again  and  again  I  would  find  something  wrong,  such  as  an 
empty  water-barrel  left  in  the  sun  to  warp  and  crack, 
after  which  it  would,  of  course,  leak.  I  used  to  say  to 
Omari  :  "  Have  you  suffered  so  little  from  thirst  that 
you  wish  to  destroy  what  vessels  we  have  ?" 

Omari  used  to  reply  :  "  Oh,  master,  I  have  told  them 
to  fill  it,  but  they  won't  hear  my  words." 

To  this  I  would  reply  :  "  Whom  have  you  told  to  fill 
it  ?" 

He  would  say  :  "  The  porters." 

To  this  I  answered  :  "  You  cannot  give  an  order  to  a 
whole  caravan  to  fill  one  barrel  ;  you  must  say,  '  So-and- 
so  and  So-and-so,  fill  that  water-barrel.'  Then,  if  they 
refuse,  come  to  me,  and  say,  '  So-and-so  and  So-and-so 
have  refused  to  fill  the  barrel,'  and  I  will  have  them 
beaten  at  once." 

Then  perhaps  I  would  go  out  and  call  two  of  the 
nearest  men.  "  Fill  that  barrel  at  once,  and  when  it 
comes  to  distributing  the  water,  your  share  will  be  that 
which  has  leaked  out,  and  mine  that  which  remains." 

With  a  cheerful  laugh  they  would  run  off  and  do  as 


200    LAST  OF  UNINHABITED  TRACT 


they  were  told,  the  more  eagerly  in  that  they  felt  that 
they  had  somehow  scored  off  Omari.  I  felt  sorry  for 
Omari,  but  he  grew  more  and  more  hopeless  as  time  went 
on,  till  at  last  I  had  gradually  to  treat  him  as  the  figure- 
head he  was,  and  trust  to  Kitabu  to  perform  his  duties. 

Next  day  we  trekked  on  after  noon,  and  towards  sunset 
struck  a  wide,  bare  plain,  at  the  other  side  of  which  we 
could  see  msuahi  bush.  I  was  lucky  in  getting  an  oryx 
on  the  way.  Level  with  the  bush  at  the  other  side  of 
the  plain  two  round  domes  rose  out  of  the  lake.  I  looked 
again  and  again  at  these  strange,  distant  objects,  without 
being  able  to  make  them  out.  In  the  jagged  lava  I  had 
never  yet  seen  a  rounded  rock,  and  so  felt  convinced  that 
they  must  be  huts  of  Elmolo,  transferred  from  their 
abandoned  village,  on  the  site  of  which  we  had  camped. 

It  grew  rapidly  darker,  till  at  last  they  were  lost  to 
sight  ;  but  we  trekked  on  in  the  dark  till  we  reached  the 
line  of  bush.  Here  I  carefully  selected  a  site  for  camp, 
and  arranged  a  position  for  each  fire,  so  that  it  should  be 
invisible  to  the  occupants  of  the  supposed  huts,  and  so  not 
alarm  them  unnecessarily. 

I  decided  not  to  trek  the  following  morning,  but  to 
try  to  establish  communication  with  these  people,  but 
directly  dawn  broke  I  saw  that  they  were  only  rocks.  I 
went  to  inspect  them,  and  found  that  their  tops,  about 
ten  feet  above  the  water,  represented  a  former  level  of 
the  lake,  and  so  had  been  rounded  by  the  washing  of  the 
waves. 

It  was  now  too  late  to  trek  on  in  the  morning,  so  I  came 
back  and  had  breakfast,  and  then  started  fishing.  The 
water  was  too  clear,  and  the  only  fish  I  hooked  was  lost 
by  one  of  the  men,  who,  in  his  excitement  to  help  me, 
seized  the  line  out  of  my  hand.    As  I  stood  in  the  shallow 


LAST  OF  UNINHABITED  TRACT  201 


water  of  the  lake  I  saw  large  fish  as  dark  blue  objects 
darting  about  in  the  shallow  water,  but  they  refused  all 
my  allurements. 

It  was  so  pleasant,  standing  in  the  lake,  with  the 
generally  hot  breeze  cooled  to  a  certain  extent  by  the 
water,  that  I  decided  to  give  the  men  and  camels  a  long- 
promised  rest.  We  had  changed  camp  daily  since 
Tumepona,  so  that  there  had  not  been  much  rest  for  either. 
After  spending  the  whole  morning  in  unsuccessful  fishing, 
I  tried  to  get  a  hippo,  but  these  animals  would  not  come 
near  enough  to  the  shore  for  a  shot. 

Not  wishing  to  return  empty-handed,  I  thought  that  I 
would  try  to  shoot  some  of  the  big  fish.  Waiting  for  a 
favourable  chance,  and  aiming  rather  low,  to  allow  for 
refraction,  I  fired,  and  up  floated  a  large  fish,  weighing 
ten  pounds  or  so.  In  the  evening  I  was  able  to  return  to 
camp  with  sixteen  large  fish,  some  four  feet  in  length, 
which  served  to  eke  out  the  half  rations  on  that  day. 

Next  day  we  started  at  3  a.m.,  and  shortly  afterwards 
reached  a  lava  ridge,  and  then  a  deep  nullah.  Had  we 
been  trekking  in  daylight,  no  doubt  we  should  have  been 
able  to  avoid  this  bad  country.  As  it  was,  the  only 
feasible  route  offered  to  me  was  to  follow  the  edge  of  the 
nullah  down  to  the  shore.  A  ghastly  trek  along  a  mass 
of  loose  lava  boulders  ensued,  till  at  last  we  passed  the 
lava  strip,  and  came  out  on  the  usual  flat  country  which 
forms  such  a  great  part  of  the  lake  shore. 

At  every  camp  we  had  noticed  the  water  gradually 
getting  better,  and  that  which  we  had  obtained  whilst 
passing  along  the  lava  shore  was  infinitely  preferable  to 
anything  we  had  as  yet  essayed,  as  there  was  no  vege- 
tation, and,  consequently,  no  fouling  of  the  water  by 
birds. 


202    LAST  OF  UNINHABITED  TRACT 


After  reaching  the  flat  shore  again,  we  found  a  sandy 
margin  to  the  lake,  in  winch  there  were  signs  of  nests, 
one  bird,  laying  eggs  about  the  size  of  a  pigeon's,  appar- 
ently burying  its  eggs.  I  searched  in  vain  for  eggs,  but 
could  find  nothing  but  innumerable  broken  ones,  some 
more  successful  egg-hunters — probably  in  the  shape  of 
crows — having  been  before  me. 

We  trekked  on  till  about  noon,  when  we  camped  in 
some  very  fair  shade,  for  which  we  had  been  steering  the 
last  few  hours.  In  this  patch  of  good-sized  thorn- trees 
and  other  bushes  I  noticed  many  nests  built  by  some 
cunning  bird,  which  fenced  about  the  whole  of  the  ex- 
terior of  its  nest  with  thorns  pointing  outwards. 

At  2.30  a.m.  next  morning  we  trekked  on,  and  as  we 
topped  a  rise,  saw  a  fire,  apparently  quite  close,  but  it 
proved  to  be  at  the  opposite  side  of  the  lake.  Shortly 
afterwards  we  heard  the  strange  drumming  sound  we 
had  noticed  before,  but  this  time  much  nearer.  I  stopped 
to  listen  and  consult  about  these  sounds,  while  the  porters 
discussed  them  in  awed  whispers. 

I  did  not  want  to  delay  the  march  by  wasting  the 
valuable  cool  marching  hours  of  the  night  whilst  I  went 
to  see  what  these  sounds  betokened,  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  did  not  like  to  let  the  caravan  proceed  without  me. 
I  conferred  with  Abdi,  while  Tengeneza,  hearing  our  dis- 
cussion, said  :  "  Master,  pay  no  heed  to  it ;  it  is  no 
human  drumming  we  hear."  Abdi  replied :  "  Leave 
alone  that  talk  of  devils — it  may  be  men  ;  and  I  am  ready 
to  go  and  look  for  them." 

Finally,  we  settled  that  Abdi  should  go  to  look  for  the 
cause  of  the  drumming,  accompanied  byMajaliwa,  whilst 
we  proceeded.  I  told  Abdi  that  we  would  follow  the  lake 
till  we  came  to  the  first  watercourse  flowing  into  it,  and 


LAST  OF  UNINHABITED  TRACT  203 


would  there  await  him.  On  arrival  at  this  watercourse, 
I  had  an  ineffectual  hunt  for  meat,  and  returned  to  camp. 

I  had  long  suspected  that  there  were  two  usual  lake- 
levels — a  wet- weather  and  dry- weather  level — and  was 
able  to  ascertain  this  for  certain  here,  for  this  and  other 
watercourses  stopped  before  reaching  the  present  level 
of  the  lake. 

It  appears  that  when  the  heavy  rains  break  in  the 
Abyssinian  mountains,  a  great  volume  of  water  is  dis- 
charged into  the  plains  below,  the  Omo  overflows  its 
banks,  and  all  the  plains  north  of  the  lake  are  under 
water.  Lake  Rudolf  then  nils  up,  and  these  water- 
courses, which  perhaps  only  contain  water  once  or  twice 
during  the  year,  flow  into  the  lake  when  it  is  at  this 
higher  level.  Long  before  it  sinks  they  have  dried  up 
again,  and  so,  after  the  subsidence,  no  trace  of  them  is 
apparent  below  the  high-level  lake  margin. 

However,  in  addition  to  this  yearly  change  of  level, 
there  also  appears  to  be  a  marked  diminishment  of  the 
lake.  Teleki  passed  at  much  the  same  time  of  the  year 
as  I  did,  but  in  his  time  the  lake  was  much  higher,  as  was 
proved  by  the  Elmolo  villages,  on  the  site  of  which  we 
camped.  Again,  the  dome-shaped  rocks  of  which  I  spoke 
prove  an  ancient  level  of  the  lake,  much  higher  than  any 
of  the  marks  of  recent  wet- weather  levels  observed  by  me. 

When  I  returned  to  the  camp  I  found  that  Abdi  had 
come  back,  having  seen  nothing.  He  said  that  they 
heard  the  drumming  in  front  of  them,  and  proceeded 
towards  the  sound,  when  it  suddenly  came  from  their  left 
hand.  They  then  went  in  that  direction,  and  shortly 
afterwards  heard  it  behind  them.  He  did  not  know 
what  to  make  of  it. 

The  men  shook  their  heads,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  We 


204    LAST  OF  UNINHABITED  TRACT 


told  you  so,"  and  Sadi  said  that  we  were  all  very  lucky 
not  to  have  been  led  astray,  as  many  caravans  had  been 
lost  in  this  way.  They  have  heard  the  demon's  drum, 
and  followed  it  miles  into  the  bush,  thinking  that  it  was 
human  beings,  till  they  have  been  utterly  lost. 

I  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  them,  and  decided  to 
investigate  myself  next  time,  but  unfortunately  never 
had  the  opportunity.  Of  one  thing  I  was  fairly  certain, 
and  that  was  that  it  was  not  made  by  human  beings, 
or  we  should  certainly  have  come  across  the  tracks  of 
either  themselves  or  their  stock.  We  had  not  seen  the 
tracks  of  human  beings  now  for  just  on  a  month,  except 
some  month-old  tracks  of  Abyssinian  hunters,  and  I  had 
looked  very  carefully  for  any  such  signs.  Directly  we 
arrived  in  an  inhabited  part  I  picked  up  tracks  at  once. 

Abdi's  account  seemed  to  indicate  that  the  noise  was 
made  by  something  which  moved  rapidly,  and  so  I  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  it  must  have  been  caused  by  some 
kind  of  bird.  If  this  was  the  case,  the  sounds,  although 
seemingly  distant,  must  have  been  in  reality  quite  close 
at  hand.  However,  this  theory  was  received  with  polite 
incredulity  even  by  Abdi  in  the  light  of  recent  events. 
Sadi,  it  appeared,  knew  all  along  that  it  was  a  Komazi, 
as  he  had  often  heard  one  at  his  home  in  Malindi. 

So  as  not  to  unduly  bias  the  reader,  I  will  now  give  a 
short  dissertation  on  Swahili  demons,  at  the  end  of  which 
he  will  be  able  to  weigh  the  facts  for  himself,  and  decide 
whether  the  balance  of  evidence  is  in  favour  of  the 
Komazi  or  not. 

There  are  a  variety  of  devils  known  to  the  Swahili,  both 
male  and  female.  Every  big  lake  and  the  sea  possesses  a 
devil  or  devils  of  its  own,  who  sit  at  the  bottom,  and  are 
in  some  cases  accountable  for  storms  and  waves.    It  is 


LAST  OF  UNINHABITED  TRACT  205 


sometimes  necessary  to  propitiate  these  with  offerings  of 
beads  and  flour. 

Almost  every  tree  of  extra  size,  such  as  an  enormous 
baobab  or  sycamore,  is  the  habitation  of  a  devil.  The 
bark  of  such  ancient  trees  is  often  valuable  as  a  medicine, 
but  before  tampering  with  such  a  tree  it  is  generally 
thought  advisable  to  leave  a  small  offering  to  propitiate 
the  devil  who  inhabits  it. 

Of  the  devils  who  live  in  solitary  places,  the  two  chief 
are  the  Ngoloko  and  the  Komazi.  The  Ngoloko  is  a 
male  demon,  with  one  eye  and  two  hands,  of  which  one 
arm  is  very  long,  and  the  other  very  short.  On  the 
middle  finger  is  an  enormous  nail,  with  which  he  kills 
people  by  clutching  the  throat.  He  has  one  leg  like  a 
man  and  the  other  like  a  donkey,  while  his  ears  are  also 
like  a  donkey's.  He  lives  in  the  bush,  feeds  on  blood  and 
honey,  and  has  female  buffaloes  as  wives.  The  Ngoloko 
sometimes  assumes  the  form  of  a  man,  and  if  he  meets 
anyone  asks  and  gives  the  news,  and  then  seizes  his 
victim  all  unawares. 

The  Komazi  lives  near  the  sea  or  a  big  lake.  He  has 
but  one  leg,  with  which  he  takes  enormous  hops  a  few 
miles  at  a  time.  It  was  this  hopping  of  the  one  leg  that 
had,  according  to  Sadi,  been  mistaken  for  the  beating  of 
a  drum.  He  had  often  heard  one  hopping  about  on  the 
rocks  at  night  at  Malindi,  "  ding  di-ding,"  exactly  like  a 
drum.  The  Komazi  has  two  eyes,  but  the  slits  are 
vertical  instead  of  horizontal. 

The  Yaos  have  a  devil  called  a  Chitowe,  who  answers 
more  or  less  to  the  description  of  the  Komazi.  We  heard 
once  that  a  Chitowe  was  coming  up  to  pay  us  a  visit  at  a 
station  I  was  in.  Great  consternation  prevailed  amongst 
all  the  natives,  as  the  Chitowe  brings  sickness  in  his  path. 


206    LAST  OF  UNINHABITED  TRACT 


A  hut  had  been  built  for  him  about  thirty  miles  from  our 
station,  and  he  arrived  there  one  night,  as  was  apparent 
the  next  day,  for  he  had  taken  the  food  prepared  for  him. 
However,  he  returned  from  there  to  Lake  Nyassa,  from 
whence  he  had  come. 

After  resting  during  the  middle  of  the  day,  we  once 
more  urged  on  the  tired  camels,  and  proceeded  till 
nightfall,  when  we  bivouacked  as  close  to  the  lake  as  we 
could  find  a  convenient  spot.  On  the  way  I  shot  two  topi 
and  a  greater  bustard,  so  the  meat-supply  for  that  day 
and  the  next  was  assured.  The  lake  had  been  gradually 
narrowing,  and  now  the  Luburr  Mountains  on  the  opposite 
side  were  to  be  clearly  seen.  During  the  night  I  woke 
suddenly,  as  there  was  a  slight  noise,  and  at  the  same 
moment  a  cat-like  animal,  probably  a  serval,  leapt  past 
me,  and  darted  into  a  bush  behind  my  head.  Next  day 
the  porters  solemnly  assured  me  that  there  had  been  a 
leopard  in  the  camp,  which  they  had  driven  away. 

We  arose  before  dawn,  and  proceeded  through  a  country 
of  scattered  bush.  As  we  reached  the  north  of  the  lake 
the  bush  gradually  became  thicker,  and  the  view  to  the 
east  opened  out  till  we  could  see  distant  mountains 
towards  Lake  Stefanie.  During  the  whole  length  of 
the  lake  till  now  there  had  been  no  view  eastwards,  as  the 
landscape  was  bounded  by  lava  ridges  only  a  few  miles 
distant.  As  we  proceeded  through  this  bushy  country  I 
suddenly  discovered  the  tracks  of  a  few  men,  and,  investi- 
gating, found  that  they  had  come  from  the  north,  slept 
the  night  under  a  patch  of  msuaki  bush,  where  they  had 
been  eating  berries,  and  then  returned  northwards  again. 
This  naturally  caused  great  excitement  amongst  the  men. 

Presently  we  came  to  a  bay  bounded  by  sandhills,  on 


LAST  OF  UNINHABITED  TRACT  207 


which  the  msuaki  grew  thickly.  As  the  shore  rose  here 
steeply,  these  clumps  of  bush  were  quite  close  to  the  water. 

As  we  trekked  along  the  shore  we  felt  a  westerly  wind 
for  the  first  time  during  our  journey  in  daylight.  Coming 
as  it  did  over  the  lake,  the  breeze  was  cool  and  fresh,  and 
made  marching  a  pleasure  after  the  days  and  days  in 
which  we  had  suffered  from  the  scorching  east  wind. 

The  msuaki  here  were  covered  with  little  berries,  which 
were  now  ripe,  and  tasted  sweet,  but  hot,  like  nasturtiums. 
The  same  bush  on  the  coast  does  not  bear  this  berry. 
I  selected  a  site  for  the  midday  halt,  deciding  to  push  on 
again  in  the  afternoon. 

My  men  cut  me  a  shady  bower  in  one  of  the  msuaki 
clumps,  and  in  this  house  I  was  sitting  when  I  heard 
excited  talking  amongst  them,  and  one  of  them  rushed  in 
to  tell  me  that  a  man  had  been  sighted.  I  went  out,  and 
saw  a  naked  savage,  with  a  bundle,  strolling  along  the  side 
of  the  lake.  On  his  head  was  something  white  we  could 
not  make  out. 

I  told  the  men  not  to  show  themselves,  and  then 
selected  Masharia,  the  Kikuyu,  and  another  man  who  had 
just  thrown  off  his  clothes,  as  the  two  nakedest  among 
the  men,  and  sent  them  to  entice  him  into  camp.  I 
impressed  on  them  the  necessity  of  doing  nothing  to 
alarm  him.  With  the  native's  usual  distrust  and  fear 
of  a  stranger,  they  wanted  to  take  rifles,  which  would  have 
been  certain  to  frighten  him.  I  told  them  that  they 
could  always  run  back  to  camp  if  he  threatened  them 
with  his  spear,  so  they  went  forth. 

The  man,  when  he  saw  them,  stopped,  and  as  they 
beckoned  to  him,  gradually  approached.  When  he  came 
near  they  pointed  to  camp,  and  he  accompanied  them 
back  quite  fearlessly.    He  put  down  his  load,  which  con- 


208    LAST  OF  UNINHABITED  TRACT 


sisted  of  a  certain  kind  of  earth  in  a  basket,  evidently  for 
the  making  of  salt,  and  walked  into  my  bower. 

I  motioned  him  to  sit  down,  and  gave  him  some  beads, 
with  which  he  seemed  very  pleased.  The  white  thing 
we  had  seen  on  his  head  now  proved  to  be  a  closely-fitting 
cap  of  white  fur,  which  we  afterwards  heard  was  made  from 
a  hare's  under-side.  This  gave  the  wearer  a  most  curious 
appearance,  as  the  cap  fitted  so  closely  that  at  a  short 
distance  it  looked  as  if  the  fur  was  the  hair  of  the  wearer. 

Abdi  tried  to  converse  with  him,  but  he  did  not  under- 
stand either  Samburr  or  Galla.  The  men  crowded  round 
to  stare  at  this  curious  individual,  a  link  with  what  to 
them  was  civilization. 

He  did  not  seem  particularly  uneasy,  but  he  did  not  like 
to  find  himself  the  centre  of  so  much  interest,  and  waved 
to  the  men  to  stand  aside ;  so  I  made  them  withdraw,  and 
leave  him  alone  with  Abdi  and  myself.  We  gave  him 
some  of  the  meat  of  the  topi,  which  one  of  the  men  cooked 
for  him.  Great  amusement  was  caused,  as  this  naked 
savage  did  not  care  for  it  half  cooked  in  the  careless 
manner  in  which  my  men  prepared  it,  and  sent  it  back 
to  be  further  grilled. 

The  men  reported  two  other  human  beings  passing, 
and,  going  out,  I  saw  two  men  creeping  along,  thinking 
that  they  were  concealed  by  the  grass,  knee-high  at  the 
edge  of  the  lake.  I  beckoned  to  our  new  friend,  and  by 
signs  conveyed  to  him  that  he  was  to  call  these  men. 

He  went  down  towards  them,  and  I  regretted  for  the 
moment  that  I  had  let  him  go,  as,  if  he  did  not  like  our 
looks,  he  might  not  come  back  at  all.  However,  I  was 
consoled  to  think  that  he  had  left  his  load  with  us,  as  he 
would  probably  come  back  to  it ;  and  so  he  did,  as  pres- 
ently he  returned  with  a  fellow. 


LAST  OF  UNINHABITED  TRACT  209 


This  man  was  rather  shy  at  first,  and  would  not  under- 
stand anything  we  said.  After  he  had  recovered  from 
his  alarm,  Abdi  finally  made  him  understand  a  little 
Borana.  I  could  not  make  out  who  these  people  were, 
and  thought  that  they  must  be  Turkana  from  the  other 
side  of  the  lake,  who  had  come  across  in  canoes. 

I  had  grown  so  accustomed  to  the  idea  that  we  should 
not  meet  the  Reshiat  here,  who,  the  Samburr  said,  had 
been  driven  away  by  the  Abyssinians,  that  it  never 
dawned  on  me  that  it  could  be  these  people,  and  I  puzzled 
over  who  they  could  be.  When  they  were  asked  who  they 
were,  they  replied,  "  Goliba,"  a  name  I  had  never  heard 
before.  They  said  that  they  had  not  come  in  canoes,  but 
had  walked  along  the  bank,  and  that  their  villages  were 
two  days  to  the  north. 

This  was  good  news ;  and  then  we  asked  about  food, 
and  they  said  they  had  plenty  at  their  homes — an  unusual 
assertion  for  a  native,  who  usually,  however  good  the 
harvest,  pretends  that  there  is  much  hunger  in  the  village. 
We  were  naturally  overjoyed  to  hear  this,  but  it  would 
be  rash  to  count  on  the  food  as  a  certainty.  Anyhow,  we 
must  take  every  precaution  not  to  alarm  these  people, 
but  to  do  everything  in  our  power  to  establish  friendly 
relations  with  them  as  soon  as  possible. 

Thinking  that  it  would  be  as  well  not  to  appear  too 
suddenly  in  their  midst,  we  decided  to  keep  one  of  these 
men  as  a  guide,  while  the  other  was  to  go  ahead  and 
inform  the  chiefs  of  our  arrival. 

So,  taking  out  some  presents  from  my  stores,  I 
despatched  him  of  the  skullcap  to  precede  us  with  gifts 
and  friendly  messages  for  his  chiefs,  while  we  followed 
afterwards  with  the  man  who  could  talk  a  little  Borana. 


14 


CHAPTER  XV 


THE  EESHIAT 

When  I  gave  the  word  to  bring  in  the  camels  and  load 
them  up,  some  delay  was  caused  by  one  of  them  having 
run  away.  This  wary  old  animal  used  to  graze  peaceably 
with  the  rest,  but  directly  they  were  rounded  up  to  be 
driven  back  to  camp,  knowing  that  it  meant  an  afternoon 
march,  he  used  to  bolt  off  as  hard  as  he  could.  To-day 
he  had  given  the  men  the  slip,  and  it  was  some  time  before 
he  could  be  found. 

As  we  skirted  round  the  bay  we  met  with  the  remains  of 
an  enormous  fish  washed  up  on  the  shore.  Only  the  head 
and  tail  remained,  the  rest  having  been  eaten  by  birds, 
but  from  these  two  fragments  I  estimated  his  total  length 
at  eight  feet  at  least. 

We  now  found  a  track  along  the  side  of  the  thick  bush, 
and  followed  this,  while  in  front  of  us  many  natives  were 
seen  hopping  in  and  out  of  the  bush,  or  bathing  on  the  sea- 
shore. By  way  of  allaying  any  fears  they  might  have 
had,  I  preceded  the  caravan  alone,  and  apparently  un- 
armed, by  about  six  hundred  yards.  I  say  "apparently," 
because,  although  I  had  nothing  but  a  whip  in  my  hand, 
I  had  a  repeating-pistol  in  my  belt  under  my  coat. 

In  front  I  saw  a  lot  of  natives  congregating  under  a 
tree,  whilst  others  were  running  up  from  the  shore  to  join 
them.    A  turn  of  the  path  left  a  tongue  of  bush  con- 

210 


THE  RESHIAT 


211 


cealing  them  from  view,  and  I  marched  on,  wondering 
what  they  would  do  when  I  rounded  the  corner  and 
suddenly  came  into  their  midst. 

Had  I  wished  to  keep  them  in  view,  I  could  have  left  the 
path  and  kept  along  the  edge  of  the  lake.  However,  such 
conduct  would  have  been  liable  to  be  interpreted  as  fear 
on  my  part,  so  I  stuck  to  the  path.  As  I  rounded  the 
tongue  of  bush,  and  knew  that  I  was  coming  face  to  face 
with  a  large  party  of  natives,  I  could  not  resist  putting 
my  hand  nonchalantly  on  the  butt  of  my  pistol  under 
my  coat.  Such  misgivings  as  to  the  reception  I  should 
receive  seemed  foolish  enough  in  the  light  of  future  events, 
but  at  that  time  I  still  had  not  realized  who  these  people 
were,  and  thought  that  they  might  be  a  section  of  Turkana, 
or  Donyiro,  who  had  moved  across  to  this  side  of  the  lake. 

Any  fears  I  might  have  entertained  were  immediately 
set  at  rest  by  a  youth  coming  forward  alone  to  meet  me, 
bearing  a  handful  of  grass  as  a  peace-offering.  He  greeted 
me  with  "  Soro,  soro,"  the  Wallamu  greeting. 

This  giving  of  grass  is  a  widespread  custom  in  Africa. 
I  have  only  noticed  it  amongst  cattle-owners,  but  am 
not  prepared  to  say  that  purely  agricultural  natives  do 
not  do  the  same.  As  it  is  generally  impossible  to  ascertain 
the  origin  and  inner  meanings  of  any  ancient  custom  from 
natives  themselves,  it  is  only  left  to  us  to  conjecture  on 
such  matters.  If  one  arrives  at  a  village  almost  anywhere 
in  Africa,  the  first  thing  that  happens  is  that  a  present  is 
brought  and  accepted  by  the  stranger.  The  original 
meaning  of  this,  I  take  it,  is  a  peace-offering  or  sign  to 
show  that  the  stranger  is  to  expect  peace  and  hospitality, 
and  not  war  and  treachery. 

In  the  bush  there  is  no  present  ready  to  give  the 
stranger,  and  so  grass  is  the  most  handy  substitute.  The 

14—2 


212 


THE  RESHIAT 


reason  why  grass  is  chosen  instead  of  anything  else  might 
have  two  interpretations.  Grass  is  held  in  great  venera- 
tion by  some  of  the  cattle-owning  people  ;  for  instance, 
among  the  Masai,  if  a  boy  is  being  beaten  by  his  father, 
he  sometimes  plucks  up  grass  as  an  appeal.  Then  the 
father  ceases  to  beat  his  son,  "  for  the  Masai  love  grass, 
for  it  is  that  which  is  given  by  Engai  (God)  to  make  their 
cattle  fat."  Therefore  a  gift  of  grass  is  not  in  the  eyes 
of  the  giver  a  gift  of  some  worthless  substance,  but  some- 
thing wherewith  to  rejoice  the  heart  of  a  cattle-owner. 

The  other  significance  it  may  bear  is  that  the  grazing 
grounds  of  the  giver  are  at  the  service  of  the  stranger  to 
whom  the  gift  is  given,  and  so  it  is  an  emblem  of  a  larger 
gift.  However,  if  these  are  the  original  reasons  for  the 
action,  I  do  not  suppose  that  the  average  native  is  aware 
of  them,  any  more  than  the  average  European  knows  why 
he  bares  his  teeth  when  he  sneers. 

When  I  reached  the  end  of  the  bay  I  waited  for  the 
caravan  to  overtake  me.  A  promontory  formed  the 
northern  side  of  the  bay,  and  the  guide  wished  us  to 
follow  the  lake  shore  outside  the  bush. 

However,  this  would  have  been  a  long  way  round,  as  I 
saw  that  the  tracks  there  were  few,  while  through  the 
bush  there  were  numerous  cattle  and  goat  tracks,  which 
made  me  think  that  the  villages  were  nearer  than  the  guide 
had  led  us  to  imagine.  Moreover,  whilst  I  had  been 
waiting  for  the  caravan,  I  had  seen  two  small  girls,  who, 
directly  they  saw  me,  had  fled  along  one  of  these  tracks. 
I  argued  that  their  natural  instinct  would  be  to  run 
towards  home,  and  not  away  from  it,  so  that  the  village 
must  be  in  that  direction. 

This  being  the  case,  I  told  the  guide  that  I  knew  the 
way,  and  was  going  to  take  the  shortest  route,  as  I  saw 


THE  RESHIAT 


213 


no  object  in  rounding  the  cape.  The  guide  should  have 
shown  some  surprise  at  this  statement,  but  natives 
always  seem  to  expect  the  unusual  in  white  men,  and  so 
he  appeared  to  think  it  quite  natural. 

I  led  the  way  into  the  bush,  but  here  the  maze  of  paths 
trodden  by  herds  of  goats  grazing  was  so  intricate  that 
I  should  have  been  at  a  loss  to  find  the  way  if  it  had  not 
been  for  the  footmarks  of  the  two  girls,  easily  distin- 
guishable in  the  soft  sand  amongst  the  larger  footprints 
of  full-grown  men  and  women. 

It  appeared  that  at  this  time  of  year  the  Keshiat  used 
to  come  down  here  to  eat  the  msuaki  berries,  now  ripe, 
and  that  the  numbers  we  had  seen  were  all  picnicking  on 
the  seashore.  We  found  numerous  little  recesses  and 
shelters,  made  of  boughs,  hidden  in  the  bushes. 

After  emerging  from  the  bush,  we  reached  a  park-like 
country  of  acacia-trees,  amongst  which  were  a  few  goat 
kraals.  These  kraals  were  for  goats  and  their  herdsmen 
only,  and  were  in  the  bush  a  few  miles  from  the  villages, 
being  moved  about  to  suit  the  grazing.  Into  one  of 
these  kraals  a  herd  of  goats  was  being  driven — a  sight 
which  moved  the  stock-loving  Somali  more  than  had  the 
sight  of  the  first  man  seen. 

M  Allah  is  great  !"  Abdi  exclaimed  ;  "  to-day  we  have 
seen  goats  for  the  first  time  for  a  month." 

The  guide  wished  us  to  camp  here,  although  it  was  not 
yet  sunset,  and  it  seemed  evident  that  the  villages  were 
near.  I  then  gathered  the  reason  that  he  had  wished  us 
to  take  the  circuitous  route  by  the  cape.  He  was  afraid 
that  we  should  reach  the  villages  the  same  evening, 
before  they  had  received  timely  warning  of  our  approach. 
I  immediately  yielded  to  his  wishes,  and  we  pitched  camp 
in  this  pleasant  part  of  the  country. 


214 


THE  RESHIAT 


It  was  as  we  were  encamped  here  that  I  for  the  first 
time  realized  that  these  people  were  the  Reshiat.  The 
men  were  in  high  spirits  that  night  at  the  prospect  of 
arriving  at  villages  the  next  day.  I  gave  them  out  the 
usual  half-ration,  which,  with  the  meat  of  one  of  the 
topi  of  the  day  before,  was  ample  for  them. 

I  might  have  given  them  a  full  ration,  but  as  now  we 
had  but  one  bag  left,  I  thought  it  more  advisable  to  keep 
this  until  we  saw  how  soon  the  Reshiat  would  be  able  to 
bring  us  in  food. 

I  was  intensely  interested  at  the  prospect  of  seeing 
these  people,  but  I  could  not  help  regretting  that  the 
solitudes  had  been  left  behind.  There  was  a  charm  about 
those  uninhabited  tracts  that  appealed  to  me  much  more 
strongly  than  the  prospect  before  us.  We  had  just 
hurried  through  them,  driven  by  force  of  circumstance, 
with  no  time  to  explore  or  enjoy  them.  How  I  longed 
now  to  be  just  starting  back,  with  a  large  supply  of  food 
and  unlimited  time  at  my  disposal,  to  wander  and  hunt 
in  their  unknown  recesses  ! 

Of  hunting  on  the  journey  I  had  been  able  to  do  nothing, 
all  my  spare  time  having  been  devoted  to  crawling  about 
on  my  stomach  after  the  common  gazelle  and  oryx  of  the 
plains.  What  magnificent  opportunities  for  hunting  ele- 
phant, lion,  and  buffalo  I  had  had  to  abandon,  owing  to 
insufficient  time  and  the  necessity  of  keeping  up  the 
constant  food-supply  of  the  men  ! 

Next  day  we  started  early,  and  had  not  gone  very  far 
before  we  saw  some  old  men  advancing  towards  us,  accom- 
panied by  our  white-capped  friend  of  the  day  before.  In 
their  hands  they  bore  small  gourds  of  milk.  Our  ac- 
quaintance of  yesterday  rushed  up  and  seized  me  by  the 
hand,  and  opened  his  gourd  of  milk.    This  was  a  luxury 


THE  RESHIAT 


215 


I  had  missed  for  a  long  time,  but  I  feared  that  it  would 
prove  to  be  the  usual  curdled  stuff  in  a  filthy,  odoriferous 
receptacle.  To  my  surprise,  I  found  comparatively  clean, 
pure  milk  in  a  clean  gourd,  and  I  drank  it  on  the  spot, 
while  the  old  men  kept  pressing  me  to  take  more.  The 
remaining  gourds  I  gave  to  some  of  the  men,  choosing 
Abdi  and  the  sais  first,  as  they  came  from  cattle-owning 
races,  and  so  would  appreciate  it  more  than  the  men  to 
whom  it  was  an  unknown  luxury  in  their  homes. 

We  were  led  to  the  first  village,  which  is  situated  on 
an  arm  of  the  lake,  which  had  now  dried,  leaving  only  a 
pool  in  the  middle.  All  round  the  pool  we  saw  a  great 
mass  of  cultivation  planted  on  ground  which,  during  the 
wet  season,  is  under  water. 

The  old  men  selected  a  site  for  our  camp,  and  then 
produced  a  woman  who  could  talk  the  Samburr  language. 
We  immediately  opened  a  market  for  food,  and  the 
Reshiat  began  bringing  in  half-gourds  full  of  white 
sorghum  (or  jowari,  as  it  is  called  in  India).  They  were 
very  poorly  off  for  beads,  and  so  readily  sold  their  food 
for  blue  Masai  and  large  white  beads.  It  was  rather 
interesting  to  think  that  most  of  the  few  beads  they  were 
wearing  must  have  once  belonged  to  either  Teleki  or 
Neumann. 

Directly  I  saw  that  there  was  going  to  be  no  difficulty 
about  food,  I  gave  out  our  last  bag  to  the  men. 

I  had  no  idea  that  Abyssinian  stations  existed  so  far 
south  as  this,  but  we  were  now  told  that  there  was  a  post 
of  the  Siddam  (as  they  and  the  other  tribes  to  the  south 
call  them)  not  so  far  off.  In  the  afternoon  I  was  told 
that  two  Abyssinian  soldiers  were  visiting  the  Reshiat 
village,  so  I  sent  for  them.  One  of  these,  who  proved  to 
be  a  Danakil,  came  and  gave  us  a  lot  of  information. 


216 


THE  RESHIAT 


He  said  that  there  was  a  post  quite  close  by,  and  that 
there  were  about  forty  soldiers  there,  under  two  azach 
(sergeants  or  subalterns),  one  a  Muhammadan  and  one  a 
Christian,  as  half  the  men  were  Muhammadan  and  half 
Christian.  He  knew  Galla  quite  well,  so  Abdi  could  talk 
to  him  easily.  He  could  not  make  out  where  we  had  come 
from,  and  Abdi  told  him  of  the  march  we  had  made,  and 
how  we  had  come  from  a  very  far  country.  He  asked  for 
some  calico,  saying  that  they  were  far  from  home,  and 
found  it  difficult  to  get  enough  to  make  their  clothes,  so 
I  gave  him  a  piece. 

I  had  been  diligently  learning  up  the  Amharic  charac- 
ters and  language,  and  tried  to  say,  "  How  do  you  do  ?" 
to  him,  but  failed,  as  I  afterwards  discovered  that  it  was 
not  pronounced  as  spelt.  I  next  wrote  it  for  him,  but 
he  could  not  read  or  write.  He  went  back  to  his  post, 
and  that  same  night  came  back  with  a  little  honey  and 
some  coffee  as  a  present  for  me. 

Meanwhile,  during  the  afternoon,  a  patrol  from  the 
post  passed  and  visited  us  on  the  way.  They  looked  very 
clean  and  smart  amongst  the  naked  Reshiat,  wearing 
trousers  and  long  shirts  of  white  calico,  with  a  sash  and 
red  bandolier  round  the  waist,  and  heads  and  feet  un- 
covered. They  had  been  told  by  the  Danakil  that  we 
were  here,  and  they,  too,  were  very  curious  to  know  where 
we  had  come  from. 

They  wanted  to  know  why  we  were  camped  here,  and 
not  at  their  post,  and  made  us  promise  to  move  our 
camp  next  day  and  come  over  to  them.  They  also  said  : 
"  Why  did  you  not  send  and  tell  us  that  you  were  coming, 
and  we  would  have  met  you  with  food  ?" 

They  apologized  for  having  come  empty-handed,  but 
soon  rectified  this  omission,  as  they  turned  to  some  of  the 


THE  RESHIAT 


217 


Reshiat  who  had  brought  in  food  for  sale,  and,  taking  it 
out  of  their  hands,  presented  it  to  us.  I  put  it  on  one 
side,  and,  after  their  departure,  handed  it  back  to  the 
owners. 

Abdi  had  appeared  rather  incredulous  on  the  journey 
when  I  told  him  that  I  was  learning  the  language  of  the 
Wahabashi  (Abyssinians),  but  now  that  I  wrote  a  few 
words  and  showed  them  to  one  of  these  men,  he  was  much 
astonished  to  find  that  he  could  read  it.  Finally,  they 
departed,  saying  that  they  were  making  a  round,  but 
would  be  back  at  the  post  next  day,  and  would  then  see 
us  again. 

That  night  I  gave  out  to  the  men,  in  addition  to  what 
they  had  already  received,  as  much  of  the  food  we  had 
bought  as  they  could  eat.  The  sais  was  talking  loudly 
about  a  certain  bird,  and  that  he  would  give  it  a  present 
of  honey  if  he  had  any.  I  asked  what  he  was  talking 
about,  and  he  said  that  there  was  a  bird  known  to  the 
Masai  that,  if  it  cries  on  the  left  flank,  denotes  danger  or 
evil,  but  if  on  the  right,  good  luck.  It  was  this  bird,  it 
appeared,  which  had  led  us  to  the  Reshiat. 

As  night  drew  in  we  heard  leopards  in  several  directions 
grunting  in  the  bush.  The  Reshiat  had  told  us  that  there 
were  plenty  here,  but  no  lions. 

The  porters  feasted  far  into  the  night,  filling  them- 
selves to  bursting-point.  The  last  thing  I  heard  before 
going  to  sleep  were  the  most  horrible  groans,  coming  from 
the  side  on  which  Abdi  and  the  camel-men  slept  ;  then 
the  voice  of  Abdi  saying  :  "  What  is  the  matter,  Yusufu  ? 
Are  you  ill?" 

"  No  ;  I  am  only  pleased  that  the  master  has  given  us 
so  much  food." 

"  But  what  are  you  groaning  about  ?" 


218 


THE  RESHIAT 


"  I  am  pleased  ;  but  oh,  this  stomach  of  mine  !" 

I  noticed  afterwards  that  the  little  fellow,  never  very 
thin,  was  strangely  distended,  and  remained  like  this  till 
the  day  he  fell  ill  and  died. 

Next  morning  we  followed  round  a  bay,  marching  at 
the  foot  of  the  sandhills,  and  at  the  edge  of  the  wet- 
weather  level  of  the  lake,  now  dry  and  covered  with 
cultivation.  After  an  hour's  walk  we  climbed  the  sand- 
hills, and  found  on  the  top  the  Abyssinian  zariba.  Plat- 
forms were  erected  at  different  points  as  look-out  posts, 
and  on  one  of  these  sat  a  man,  who  directed  us  to  pro- 
ceed round  the  zariba.  A  motley  crew  of  soldiers  emerged, 
headed  by  the  Abyssinian  azach,  a  tall,  good-looking  man, 
wearing  a  soft  black  felt  hat. 

He  conducted  us  to  a  camping-ground,  and  then  they 
withdrew  and  sat  on  one  side.  Presently  Abdi,  who 
had  been  talking  to  them,  came  to  me,  and  said  :  "  They 
are  asking  if  you  have  a  letter.  They  say  that  no  man 
can  travel  through  their  country  unless  he  bears  a  letter 
from  the  Sultan." 

I  affected  to  think  for  a  bit,  and  then  replied  :  "  Well, 
what  shall  we  do  now,  Abdi  V* 

Abdi  had  seen  a  thousand  difficulties  crop  up  on  the 
journey,  many  of  them  seemingly  insurmountable  at  the 
time,  although  they  may  sound  trivial  enough  in  narra- 
tion, and,  all  these  having  been  successfully  overcome, 
he  had  great  faith  in  my  powers  of  resource.  He  thought 
for  a  while,  and  then  said  :  "  You  can  write  their  language. 
Why  do  you  not  write  out  a  letter,  and  give  it  to  them, 
saying  that  it  is  from  their  Sultan  ?" 

I  had  ready  in  my  pocket-book  a  passport,  obtained 
through  the  kindness  of  the  authorities,  so  I  pulled  this 
out  and  gave  it  to  Abdi,  saying  :  "  Here,  show  them  this, 


THE  RESHIAT 


219 


and  see  if  it  will  do."  Abdi  took  it  to  the  azach,  and  great 
was  his  astonishment  to  see  all  the  Abyssinians  rise  to 
their  feet  directly  they  recognized  Menelek's  seal,  and 
continue  standing  whilst  the  azach  read  it  out  to  them. 

Azach  Kalile,  the  head  Amhara  in  the  post,  brought  us 
some  sheep  and  goats  and  some  grain  as  a  present.  I 
accepted  the  grain,  but  refused  the  sheep  and  goats,  fear- 
ing that  they  had  been  taken  from  the  Reshiat  for  my 
benefit. 

During  the  whole  of  my  journey  through  the  outlying 
provinces  of  Abyssinia,  I  was  always  very  chary  of 
accepting  such  presents.  It  generally  meant  that  they 
had  been  taken  from  the  natives  of  the  country,  who  got 
nothing  in  return,  while  the  Abyssinians,  having  given 
something  that  did  not  belong  to  them,  received  my 
presents  in  exchange. 

Azach  Kalile  expressed  himself  very  hurt  at  my  re- 
fusal, and  came  back  at  intervals  all  through  the  day  to 
see  if  I  had  not  altered  my  mind.  Aba  Gibi,  the  head  of 
the  Muhammadan  soldiers,  whom  we  had  seen  the  day 
before,  returned  with  his  patrol  in  the  evening,  and 
immediately  came  to  my  tent  to  know  why  I  had  not 
accepted  the  sheep. 

The  azach  and  another  Abyssinian  were  very  interested 
to  find  that  I  could  write  Amharic  characters,  and  spent 
a  great  part  of  the  time  I  remained  with  them  instructing 
me  in  the  language,  writing  words  for  me  in  my  vocabulary, 
and  reading  through  my  grammars. 

In  the  afternoon  I  heard  a  strange  voice  speaking 
Swahili,  while  the  porters  were  convulsed  with  laughter. 
Presently  Omari  brought  a  Reshiat  up  to  me,  and  said  : 
"  Behold,  here  is  one  of  these  savages  who  can  speak 
Swahili."    I  turned  round  and  saw  a  perfectly  naked 


220 


THE  RESHIAT 


man  with  Oraari,  who,  when  he  was  addressed,  replied 
in  fluent  Swahili.  I  could  not  help  laughing,  as  it  seemed 
to  me  as  curious  as  if  a  naked  man  had  suddenly  come 
up  and  addressed  me  in  my  own  language,  for  none  of 
my  men  spoke  English,  and  so  Swahili  sounded  to  me  as 
strangely  familiar  amongst  all  the  different  tongues  we 
had  met  on  our  journey. 

I  asked  him  where  he  had  learnt  Swahili,  and  he  said 
that  he  and  another  Reshiat  had  been  taken  away  by  a 
native  ivory  trading  caravan.  I  asked  him  where  he 
had  been  to,  and  he  replied  :  "  I  don't  know — Bagamoyo 
or  Dar  as  Salam,  somewhere  on  the  coast."  Omari  sug- 
gested that  he  ought  to  be  ashamed  to  go  about  naked 
after  he  had  known  better,  but  he  said  :  "  No  ;  it  is  good 
to  be  like  this." 

From  this  man  I  obtained  a  certain  amount  of  Reshiat 
words  and  other  information,  but  not  as  much  as  might 
have  been  expected,  as  he  could  only  keep  his  attention 
fixed  on  answering  my  questions  for  about  half  an  hour 
at  a  time.  After  that  time  his  attention  used  to  wander, 
and  his  answers  became  vague,  and  he  had  to  be  given 
a  long  rest.  To  the  raw  native  it  is  a  very  serious  brain- 
fag to  have  to  keep  the  attention  fixed  on  anything  for 
the  shortest  intervals,  however  hard  they  may  try. 

The  second  time  the  Swahili-speaking  Reshiat  came  to 
see  me  he  brought  with  him  a  chief  of  the  nearest  kraal, 
who  asked  me  what  presents  I  was  going  to  give  him. 
I  replied  that  I  was  a  stranger,  and  had  not  yet  received 
a  present  from  him,  and  so  it  was  not  likely  that  I  should 
give  him  a  present  first. 

To  this  he  replied  :  "  You  are  right.  The  Siddam  go 
into  their  zariba  at  sunset,  close  it  up,  and  do  not  come 
out  again  till  sunrise,  for  they  are  afraid  to  walk  about 


THE  RESHIAT 


221 


in  the  dark.  I  will  come  to-night  and  bring  my  present, 
for  at  that  time  the  Siddam  will  not  see  me  here." 

At  sunset  the  azach,  who  had  been  giving  me  an 
Amharic  lesson,  said  good-night,  and  all  the  Abyssinians 
retired  into  their  zariba,  which  they  carefully  barricaded. 
Shortly  afterwards,  Menyi  Imorsha,  who  was  the  present 
makansi  (or  chief)  of  the  tribe,  as  well  as  of  the  nearest 
kraal,  came  stealthily  up  to  my  camp.  He  sat  down,  and, 
with  great  secrecy,  produced  a  large  gourd  of  honey, 
saying  to  Abdi  :  "  Tell  him  not  to  let  them  " — pointing 
to  the  zariba — "  see  it,  as  every  day  they  ask  us  for 
honey,  and  we  always  say  we  have  none.  Don't  let 
them  see  as  much  as  the  gourd,  and  to-morrow  night  at 
the  same  time  I  will  come  and  fetch  my  gourd  back." 

I  had  a  long  and  interesting  conversation  with  the 
makansi  and  his  old  men,  as  he  understood  Samburr,  and 
so  Abdi  was  able  to  converse  easily  with  him,  whilst  I 
was  able  to  follow  the  conversation. 

All  I  knew  about  the  Reshiat  so  far  was  gleaned  from 
Von  Hohnel  and  Neumann's  books.  I  will  give  a  short 
resume  from  these  books,  so  that  the  reader  can  see  in 
what  respects  they  agree  with  what  the  men  told  me. 

Teleki  and  Von  Hohnel  arrived  with  about  two  hundred 
followers,  and  camped  on  the  sandhills  somewhere  near 
my  present  camp,  and  there  built  a  strong  zariba.  They 
say  that  on  their  way  to  the  camp  they  passed  a  lot  of 
human  bones,  and  that  the  Reshiat  told  them  that  these 
were  the  bones  of  some  Samburr  who  had  built  a  kraal 
near  them,  and  then  had  stolen  some  cattle,  and  so  the 
Reshiat  had  killed  them  all. 

Von  Hohnel  talks  of  the  oromaj  (saying  that  this  word 
means  chief,  or  medicine-man)  of  the  Reshiat,  who 
always  carried  with  him  a  long  stick.    The  Reshiat  re- 


222 


THE  RESHIAT 


fused  to  let  them  proceed  northwards,  saying  that  the 
people  there  were  mangati  (which  word  he  translates  by 
"  wild  beasts  ") — a  circumstance  they  were  at  a  loss 
to  explain.  They  visited  Lake  Stefanie,  leaving  their 
ivory  buried  with  the  Reshiat,  and  then  came  back, 
fetched  their  ivory,  and  returned  the  way  they  had  come, 
by  Rudolf. 

Neumann  visited  the  Reshiat  several  years  later  with 
a  caravan  of  donkeys,  with  which  he  had  proceeded  up 
Lake  Rudolf.  Unlike  his  predecessor,  he  did  not  build  a 
fortified  zariba,  but  lived  on  terms  of  great  friendship 
with  the  Reshiat,  and  finally  built  a  hut  in  their  own 
kraal,  in  which  he  left  many  surplus  loads,  intending  to 
return  at  some  future  date  to  claim  them.  It  was  on 
the  Omo  River  that  he  was  badly  mauled  by  a  female 
elephant,  and  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to  be  carried,  he 
was  brought  back  to  the  Reshiat,  in  which  locality  he 
spent  a  period  of  convalescence,  until  he  was  able  to 
walk,  when  he  returned  by  Lake  Rudolf,  the  way  he  had 
come. 

I  will  now  tell  the  reader  what  the  Reshiat  told  me.  I 
will  not  attempt  to  elucidate  it,  but  leave  it  for  him  to 
pick  out  the  bad  from  the  good.  Nor  will  I  bore  him  with 
the  hundreds  of  questions  I  asked  to  elicit  this  informa- 
tion, but  just  give  a  summary. 

The  first  white  man  who  ever  visited  the  Reshiat  was 
Bwana  Nyamayangu  (Neumann),  who  came  up  with 
donkeys  ten  years  ago.  After  that  came  two  white  men, 
twelve  years  ago,  with  a  great  multitude  of  porters. 
Yes,  they  were  quite  certain  about  the  times  and  the  order 
of  precedence  (showing  that  Neumann  had  left  the  greatest 
impression). 

These  had  buried  some  ivory  with  them,  and  gone  off, 


THE  RESHIAT 


223 


and  came  back  again  to  fetch  this  ivory.  No  ;  they  had 
refused  to  let  them  go  on,  as  all  the  tribes  to  the  north 
were  mangati  (enemies,  not  "  wild  beasts,"  as  Von 
Hohnel  has  it),  and  so  they  were  afraid  of  embroiling 
themselves  with  them. 

The  last  fight  they  had  with  any  other  tribe  was  with 
the  Turkana,  one  hundred  and  forty  years  ago.  Yes  ; 
they  were  quite  certain  that  it  was  one  hundred  and  forty 
years  ago.  No  ;  the  speaker  was  not  then  a  young  man  : 
he  was  an  old  man,  as  he  was  now  ;  but  he  was  sure  of  the 
date. 

It  had  happened  like  this  :  The  Turkana  had  fought 
with  the  Samburr  to  the  south  of  the  lake,  and,  to  get 
away  from  them,  the  Samburr  had  trekked  up  here,  and 
built  a  kraal  near.  The  Turkana  had  followed  them  up, 
and  made  war  on  them  here.  On  the  day  that  the 
Turkana  had  arrived,  the  chief  of  the  Reshiat  happened 
to  be  in  this  Samburr  kraal,  visiting  them,  and  was  killed 
by  the  Turkana.  When  the  Reshiat  heard  of  the  death 
of  their  chief,  they  turned  out  and  joined  forces  with  the 
Samburr  against  the  Turkana.  However,  the  Turkana 
overcame  them  both,  and  got  away  with  some  of  their 
cattle.  The  bones  still  to  be  seen  on  the  sandhills  were 
a  record  of  that  fight.  The  name  of  the  old  chief  who 
used  to  carry  the  long  stick  was  Longoramai  (hence  Von 
Hound's  oromaj). 

Shortly  after  Neumann  left,  the  Abyssinians  came  down 
in  force,  and  they  took  flight  to  the  islands  at  the  north 
of  Rudolf.  They  subsequently  made  peace  with  them, 
and  they  returned  to  their  own  village.  The  Abyssinians 
gave  them  back  some  of  their  cattle  and  flocks,  but  what 
saved  them  was  that  they  had  a  lot  of  tobacco  buried, 
and  this  they  took  to  the  Turkana  west  of  the  lake,  and 


224 


THE  RESHIAT 


with  it  bought  sheep  and  goats.  Some  of  these  sheep  and 
goats  they  afterwards  exchanged  for  cattle  with  the 
Abyssinians,  but  they  had  not  the  number  of  cattle  they 
used  to  have  formerly.  Now,  if  one  saw  a  herd,  it 
belonged  to  many  men — two  or  three  to  one  man,  and 
two  or  three  to  another.  Formerly  whole  herds  belonged 
to  one  man. 

Then  Abdi  asked  if  Neumann  had  left  any  goods  here, 
and  they  replied,  "  No."  They  asked  after  Neumann, 
and  the  deceitful  Abdi  said  that  I  was  his  brother.  At 
this  they  evinced  great  interest,  and,  after  a  long  consul- 
tation in  their  own  language,  they  said  :  "  We  cannot  lie 
to  you.  Bwana  Nyamayangu  did  leave  some  goods  here, 
and  no  doubt  his  brother  has  come  to  fetch  them.  He 
built  a  hut  and  left  his  things  there,  and  then  locked  it 
up  and  went  his  way.  Shortly  after  he  had  gone,  the 
Abyssinians  came,  and  we  fled  away,  and  when  we  came 
back,  we  found  the  goods  no  longer  there." 

I  asked  about  the  Elmolo,  and  was  told  that  the 
Rendile  had  attacked  them  first,  and  subsequently  some 
Abyssinian  hunters,  and  so  they  had  taken  refuge  on 
Centre  Island,  or  South  Island — I  could  not  quite  gather 
from  the  description.  Their  language,  they  said,  was 
more  like  that  of  the  Amarr  (or  Amorr)  than  any  other. 
These  people  live  to  the  east  of  the  Reshiat. 

Next  morning  the  Abyssinians  came  to  see  me,  and 
brought  back  the  sheep,  and  also  an  ox,  saying  that  they 
had  now  discovered  why  I  would  not  accept  the  sheep, 
as  it  was  too  small  a  present  for  me,  so  they  had  brought 
an  ox  as  well. 

I  explained  to  them  that  the  customs  of  different 
countries  differed.  In  our  country  we  made  each  native 
pay  a  hut-tax  ;  in  theirs  there  was  no  hut-tax,  but  the 


THE  RESHIAT 


225 


rulers  took  from  the  inhabitants  what  they  needed  in  the 
way  of  food  and  supplies.  This  was  all  right  for  the 
rulers  of  the  country,  but  I  was  not  of  that  country,  and 
therefore  I  had  no  right  to  expect  food  from  the  in- 
habitants of  the  country.  The  grain  I  had  accepted,  to 
show  my  friendship  for  them  ;  but  a  big  present  I  did  not 
wish  to  accept. 

They  replied  that  the  sheep  were  not  taken  from  the 
natives  for  nothing,  but  were  bought  with  coffee  from  the 
Abyssinian  station  of  Bako,  and  therefore  I  need  havt> 
no  fear  of  accepting  them.  When  I  heard  this,  I  did  noi 
resist  their  importunities  any  longer,  and  accepted  the 
sheep,  but  declined  the  ox. 

My  porters  had  been  licking  their  lips  at  the  prospect 
of  sheep  since  the  day  before,  so  now  that  I  had  accepted 
them,  I  immediately  distributed  them  amongst  the  men, 
who  made  short  work  of  them. 

Most  of  the  former  travellers  who  had  passed  through 
Abyssinia  so  as  to  visit  the  Omo  River  had  come  by  way 
of  Lake  Margherita  and  the  north  of  Lake  Stefanie,  and 
so  I  had  always  intended  to  take  a  route  rather  north  of 
this,  to  strike  new  ground.  From  what  the  Abyssinians 
told  me,  it  was  evident  that  there  was  such  a  route,  and 
that  a  big  Abyssinian  garrison  at  a  place  called  Bako  would 
be  passed  on  this  route  in  about  a  week's  journey  from 
Reshiat.  However,  I  was  sorry  to  hear  that  part  of  the 
Abyssinian  Boundary  Commission  had  returned  from  the 
Omo  by  Bako  to  Addis  Ababa,  and  so  this  route  would  no 
longer  be  new  ground. 

My  men  had  been  very  nervous  about  the  Abyssinians 
before  we  met  them,  and  now  they  disgusted  me  by  the 
cringing  servility  they  showed  them.  Omari  tried  his 
hardest  to  ingratiate  himself  with  them  in  Arabic,  as 

15 


226 


THE  RESHIAT 


both  he  and  some  of  the  Abyssinians  knew  a  few  words 
of  this  language,  although  Omari's,  spoken  with  a  Bantu 
accent,  was  not  very  easy  to  understand.  He  made 
himself  especially  ridiculous  by  addressing  a  small, 
ragged  urchin,  who  was  sent  down  with  milk  for  me,  as 
sheikh. 

On  the  second  evening  that  I  was  encamped  here  there 
was  a  plague  of  lake-fly.  and  also  of  jumping  insects 
(grasshoppers  and  crickets),  which  hurled  themselves 
about  the  place  with  the  utmost  abandon.  This  is  sup- 
posed to  be  a  sign  that  the  rains  are  near. 

Shortly  after  the  Abyssinians  had  retired  into  their 
zariba  and  shut  themselves  up  for  the  night,  my  friend 
the  mdkansi  brought  up  his  wife  to  see  me.  I  gave  her 
some  beads,  at  which  she  was  very  pleased,  and  also  gave 
the  makansi  and  his  elders  some  presents. 

Evidently  the  only  two  white  men  they  have  had  to 
deal  with — Neumann  and  Teleki — both  made  a  very 
favourable  impression  on  them,  as  they  told  me  that 
when  I  came  they  were  overjoyed  to  hear  that  another 
white  man  was  coming,  and  hoped  that  they  might  sit 
with  us,  instead  of  with  the  Abyssinians,  for  they  said  : 
11  We  are  become  as  donkeys  and  beasts  because  of  these 
Siddam,  who  have  taken  our  country  ;  and  now  that  we 
hear  that  you  are  leaving  us  to-morrow,  our  hearts  are 
sad,  for  our  state  will  be  as  it  was  before  you  came." 

I  must  say,  however,  that  the  Abyssinians  treat  their 
subjects  very  much  better  than  any  other  African  tribe 
I  have  met  would  treat  a  subject-people. 

A  few  notes  on  the  Reshiat  might  be  of  interest  before 
closing  the  chapter.  The  males  are  generally  perfectly 
nude,  except  for  their  head-dress,  as  seen  in  the  photo- 
graph, whilst  the  females  wear  skirts  of  skins.  The 


THE  RESHIAT 


227 


hare's-skin  cap  worn  by  many  of  the  young  men  I  have 
already  described.  This  generally  has  a  socket  on  the 
top,  in  which  an  ostrich-feather,  or  else  a  long,  whip- 
like ornament,  is  worn.  Others  wear  chignons  of  hair 
and  plastered  mud,  like  the  Turkana,  but  not  of  such 
massive  size.  Some  are  uncircumcised,  like  the  Turkana, 
whilst  others  are  circumcised.  They  told  me  that  the 
latter  state  was  customary  in  the  tribe,  but  I  fancy  that 
recent  intercourse  with  the  Turkana  has  led  some  of 
them  to  adopt  their  customs.  The  women  wear  the  hair 
plaited  or  in  ringlets. 

They  possess  but  few  beads  or  ornaments,  and  prac- 
tically no  cloth.  Circular  wrist-knives  are  worn,  as 
described  in  connection  with  the  Turkana.  The  men  of 
this  and  the  other  tribes  to  the  north  on  the  Omo  River — 
Murule  and  Kerre — carry  about  with  them  small  wooden 
pillows  like  miniature  one-legged  stools,  on  which  they 
sometimes  sit. 

The  Reshiat  can  often  be  seen  standing  on  one  leg, 
with  the  sole  of  the  other  foot  resting  behind  the  knee- 
joint  and  knee,  at  right  angles  to  the  body — an  attitude 
which  has  often  been  noticed  amongst  Hamitic  people. 
The  people  that  do  this  are  Somalis,  Masai,  Rendile, 
Samburr,  Alui,  Bari,  Madi,  and  many  other  non-Bantu 
people  of  Africa. 

Although  this  attitude  has  been  remarked  on  by 
several  writers  as  indicative  of  a  certain  type  of  native, 
I  have  never  seen  another  curious  custom  referred  to  in 
this  respect.  This  is  the  manner  in  which  meat  is  eaten  : 
A  large  piece  is  held  in  the  left  hand,  the  end  is  seized 
with  the  teeth,  and  a  piece  cut  off  while  in  this  position 
by  a  knife  held  in  the  right  hand,  at  infinite  risk  to  the 
nose  and  Hps  of  the  consumer.    Although  I  have  often 

15—2 


228 


THE  RESHIAT 


seen  this  act  performed  by  such  tribes  as  rest  on  one 
leg,  I  have  never  seen  a  Bantu  native  eat  meat  in  this 
fashion. 

The  Reshiat  are  the  only  Africans  I  have  yet  met  who 
make  a  practice  of  eating  donkey-flesh,  and  the  large 
number  of  these  animals  they  breed  appear  to  be  used 
for  food  only,  and  for  no  other  purpose.  They  do  not 
wander  about  as  do  the  Rendile  and  Samburr,  and  so  do 
not  require  animals  to  carry  their  goods  from  one  place  to 
another. 

The  prospective  husband  pays  twenty  cattle  for  a  girl, 
and  four  to  six  for  a  mature  woman.  The  women  here 
and  amongst  the  Rendile  struck  me  as  having  better 
figures  than  those  of  the  natives  to  the  south.  Some  of 
them  had  quite  slim  waists,  while  the  usual  Bantu  woman 
is  barrel-shaped. 

The  Reshiat  each  carry  one  spear,  with  a  long  haft 
and  blade,  often  protected  with  the  leather  sheath 
mentioned  before.  They  do  not  usually  carry  shields, 
but  occasionally  a  long  one  of  thin  basket-work  is  seen. 

Having  rested  the  men  and  camels  a  day  and  a  half 
here,  it  was  necessary  to  push  on,  in  spite  of  the  protests 
of  the  azach,  who  wanted  me  to  stop  for  a  long  time  with 
him.  Not  only  was  the  time  at  my  disposal  short,  but 
I  also  feared  the  approaching  rains,  which  are  very 
heavy  in  the  mountains  of  Southern  Abyssinia,  and 
render  travelling  in  this  season  specially  arduous  and 
uncomfortable. 

So  I  said  good-bye  to  the  Abyssinians,  and  started 
off  for  the  Omo  River.  Azach  Kalile,  my  Amharic 
instructor,  bade  me  a  very  affectionate  farewell.  As  the 
camels  moved  off  and  I  hastened  to  take  the  head  of  the 
caravan,  he  seized  my  hand  in  both  his,  and  walked  with 


THE  RESHIAT 


229 


me  for  about  half  a  mile,  without  releasing  it,  much  to  my 
embarrassment. 

He  had  treated  me  exceedingly  well,  and  I  really 
believe  that  his  kindness  to  me  was  prompted  purely  by 
nice  feeling,  and  not  out  of  hope  of  gain.  I  cannot  say 
the  same  for  the  other  Abyssinians  in  the  post,  or  the 
majority  of  those  I  subsequently  met,  nine  hundred  and 
ninety-nine  out  of  every  thousand  of  whom  were  ceaseless 
in  clamouring  for  presents,  while  they  would  do  nothing 
for  me.  The  azach,  on  the  contrary,  when  I  made  him 
presents  on  leaving,  begged  me  to  remember  that  I  had 
a  long  journey  before  me,  and  must  not  expend  my  goods 
too  freely. 

After  expressing  all  sorts  of  good  wishes  for  the  journey, 
and  hopes  to  see  me  again,  he  finally  turned  back  to  the 
zariba,  while  we  slowly  wended  our  way  northwards  to  a 
place  on  the  Omo  called  Murule. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


THE  OMO  RIVER  AND  NERI  DESERT 

Shortly  after  leaving  the  Abyssinian  post,  a  long,  dark 
line  of  trees  came  into  view  on  the  left.  This  was  the 
Omo  River.  During  the  day's  march  this  line  receded 
from  us,  and  then  approached  us  again.  We  bivouacked 
that  night  just  before  reaching  a  spur  coming  down  from 
the  Bashada  range. 

Some  Abyssinians  were  driving  sheep  to  Bako,  and 
were  supposed  to  be  showing  us  the  way,  but  as  they  pro- 
ceeded so  slowly,  we  left  them  behind.  Next  day  we 
crossed  the  tail-end  of  the  spur,  and  then  saw  the  line  of 
trees  marking  the  Omo  winding  round  to  our  front. 
The  whole  of  this  country  appears  to  be  under  water 
during  the  rains. 

On  reaching  the  trees  we  had  seen  in  front,  we  found 
that  either  bank  of  the  river  is  enclosed  with  a  belt  of 
thick  vegetation  and  tall  trees — about  one  to  two  miles 
broad.  Passing  through  this  belt,  we  selected  a  well- 
shaded  camp  on  the  river-bank,  which  was  here  high 
above  the  water. 

A  lion  was  roaring  in  this  thick  patch,  while  shortly 
after  we  had  started  in  the  morning  we  had  seen  a  very 
big  spoor,  perhaps  of  this  selfsame  animal. 

Just  before  entering  the  wooded  belt  we  had  seen  a 
greater  bustard,  which  I  stopped  to  stalk  and  shoot. 

230 


OMO  RIVER  AND  NERI  DESERT  231 


While  doing  this,  the  Abyssinians  came  up,  and  showed 
us  the  path  through  to  the  river. 

The  spot  at  which  we  camped  was  called  Murule,  this 
being  the  name  of  a  tribe  who  live  about  here.  We  did 
not  see  any  of  them,  as  they  appear  to  live  chiefly  on  the 
opposite  bank.  The  river  itself  was  very  low,  but  by  the 
breadth  and  depth  of  the  banks  one  could  see  that  it 
must  have  about  ten  times  its  present  volume  of  water 
during  the  wet  weather. 

Narok,  who  felt  the  heat  very  much  crossing  the  bare, 
flat  country  we  had  just  traversed,  wanted  to  rush  into  the 
river  to  cool  herself.  Fortunately,  I  stopped  her  in  time, 
and  found  a  shallow  spot  in  which  to  let  her  wallow, 
attached  to  a  cord,  so  that  she  could  not  go  far  in.  A 
crocodile  at  tha  other  side  of  the  river  immediately  began 
sailing  across  towards  her,  but  when  I  raised  my  rifle  to 
fire,  took  fright,  and  quickly  sank  out  of  sight. 

On  leaving  Murule,  it  was  necessary  to  follow  the  river 
along  outside  the  wooded  belt,  as  the  latter  was  too  thick 
to  force  a  way  through.  We  found  the  track  followed  by 
the  Abyssinians  in  their  goings  to  and  from  Bako.  The 
open  country  soon  gave  way  to  a  dense  jungle  of  thorn, 
aloe,  and  cactus,  through  which  a  way  had  been  cut  by 
the  Abyssinians.  As  it  had  only  been  cut  to  suit  men 
and  donkeys,  our  camels  met  with  some  difficulty  in 
passing  through,  as  overhanging  branches  caught  their 
loads  and  the  cross-poles  with  which  the  camel-mats  were 
kept  in  place. 

After  about  ten  miles'  march  through  the  bush,  we 
suddenly  came  out  on  an  open  spot  on  the  river-bank. 
On  the  left  was  a  village,  and  on  the  right  an  Abyssinian 
post.  I  steered  towards  the  village,  and  a  pleasant- 
looking  chief  came  out  to  greet  me.    At  the  same  time  a 


232    OMO  RIVER  AND  NERI  DESERT 


group  of  soldiers  came  across  from  the  zariba  and  took 
me  over  to  it.  One  of  these  men  could  speak  a  little 
Arabic,  so  I  could  make  myself  understood  by  him. 

We  passed  the  zariba,  and  descended  a  little  dip,  where 
was  a  solitary  tree,  and  he  chose  an  absolutely  shadeless 
site  for  a  camp  on  the  other  side  of  this  on  some  sand- 
hills. 

Under  the  tree  which  appears  in  the  photograph  a  small 
market  was  held.  Here  I  saw  for  the  first  time  natives 
from  Bako.  These  had  come  down  with  grain,  to  ex- 
change with  the  local  natives  for  salt.  The  men  were 
absolutely  nude,  but  had  their  hair  dressed  in  waves 
and  puffs,  as  seen  in  the  next  photograph.  The  hair  was 
well  kept,  and  not  smeared  with  mud,  as  amongst  all  the 
peoples  to  the  south.  The  coiffure  looked  exactly  like 
that  of  some  European  women.  The  Bako  women,  on 
the  other  hand,  generally  have  the  head  shaved,  and  wear 
an  extraordinary  sort  of  kilt  made  out  of  strips  of  wild 
palm-leaves. 

The  bag  hung  up  in  the  tree  is  the  skin  of  a  goat  stuffed 
with  grass.  This  is  hung  up  to  dry,  and  then  scraped 
and  pounded  till  it  becomes  soft,  when  it  will  be  used  as 
a  bag  for  coffee  or  grain. 

The  name  of  this  place  was  Karo,  and  the  village  I  had 
seen  that  of  the  Kerre.  As  I  should  have  plenty  more 
opportunities  of  seeing  Abyssinians,  and  probably  of  a 
better  class  than  those  here,  and  no  other  opportunity  of 
seeing  these  people,  I  was  anxious  to  camp  near  them. 

Especially  did  I  want  to  avoid  the  shadeless  camp 
which  the  Abyssinians  had  chosen  for  me.  So  I  waited 
till  the  camels  came  in,  and  then  we  marched  across  to 
the  village,  and  the  chief  I  had  before  seen  soon  found  a 
pleasant  place  in  which  to  camp. 


OMO  RIVER  AND  NERL  DESERT  233 


There  are  plenty  of  fish  in  the  river  here,  and  some  of 
the  children  play  games  with  the  fish,  which  the  latter 
thoroughly  enjoy  and  enter  into  the  spirit  of.  Each  boy 
provides  himself  with  a  long  line  of  plaited  aloe-fibre,  and 
an  iron  hook  shaped  like  the  diagram,  and  pointed  at  the 
end. 


The  boy  then  takes  enough  baked  dough  or  pulse  for  a 
meal  for  two  full-grown  men.  With  this  he  goes  down  to 
the  river,  and,  sitting  on  the  bank,  baits  his  hook  with 
bits  of  dough,  in  this  way  accounting  for  half  of  it,  and 
during  the  time  occupied  he  himself  eats  the  other  half. 

Having  baited  his  hook,  he  slings  his  line  in  the  water, 
and  immediately  thousands  of  fish  rush  at  it ;  the  quickest 
gets  the  bait,  and  the  fisherman  draws  in  his  hook  to 
rebait.  No  secrecy,  stealth,  or  silence  is  required  on  the 
Omo  River  ;  the  fisherman  proclaims  his  presence  with 
loud  noise  and  splashing  of  cumbersome  tackle,  and  all 
the  fish  flock  round.  Hour  after  hour  the  patient  fisher- 
man continues  to  rebait  his  hook,  throws  it  out  again, 
and  after  the  hundredth  part  of  a  second  rapidly  pulls  in 
his  fine,  as  if  his  life  depended  on  it. 

Perhaps  once  or  twice  in  the  course  of  a  whole  day's 
fishing  some  unwary  fish  gets  caught  on  the  point,  and  is 
sufficiently  lazy  not  to  trouble  to  wriggle  off  the  smooth- 
pointed  hook. 

After  watching  some  time  I  essayed  the  art,  but  with  an 
ordinary  fish-hook.  My  first  efforts  were  unsuccessful,  as 
miserable  little  unhookable  fish  ate  the  bait  before  I 
could  get  a  chance  at  a  big  one.    Presently,  however,  I 


234    OMO  RIVER  AND  NERI  DESERT 


began  to  learn  where  to  cast  for  the  big  ones,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  catching  thirty  fish,  much  to  the  chagrin  of  the 
local  fisher-boys. 

I  stopped  a  day  at  Karo  to  give  the  camels  a  chance  of 
grazing,  as  the  camel-grazing  was  good,  and  mine  were 
now  miserably  thin.  During  this  time  I  learnt  about 
several  curious  customs  from  the  chief  of  the  Kerre. 
The  men  are  completely  nude.  Many  of  them  wear  a 
false  back  to  the  head,  which  gives  them  a  most  curious 
appearance.  The  hair  is  plastered  with  mud,  and 
pulled  over  a  shape  or  puff  fitting  on  the  back  of  the  head. 
When  the  coiffure  is  complete  it  looks  like  part  of  the 
head.  The  whole  is  surmounted  by  ostrich-feathers,  or 
long  wires  poked  into  the  false  back,  and  standing  upright. 


The  Kerre  live  on  the  banks  of  the  Omo  about  Karo, 
while  in  the  hills  to  the  east  are  two  small  tribes  called  the 
Banna  and  Bashada.  All  these  three  tribes  are  in  the 
habit  of  strangling  their  first-born  children,  and  throwing 
the  body  away.  The  Kerre  throw  it  into  the  river,  where 
it  is  eaten  by  crocodiles,  and  the  other  two  leave  it 
in  the  bush  for  hyenas  to  eat.  The  only  explanation 
they  give  of  this  custom  is  that  it  is  the  decree  of  their 
ancestors. 

Talking  to  Abyssinians  about  this  afterwards,  they  said 
that  they  had  tried  to  break  them  of  the  habit,  but  found 
it  impossible.  They  also  declared  that  it  was  only 
illegitimate  children  who  were  treated  in  this  way.  How- 
ever, I  think  that  they  were  mistaken  on  this  point,  as  I 


OMO  RIVER  AND  NERI  DESERT  235 


asked  most  carefully,  and  was  told  that  for  a  certain 
number  of  years  after  marriage  children  would  be  thrown 
away,  and  after  that  they  would  be  kept.  The  number 
of  the  first  children  who  were  strangled,  and  the  period  of 
years  during  which  this  was  done,  appears  to  be  variable, 
but  I  could  not  understand  what  regulated  it. 

There  was  one  point,  however,  about  which  they  were 
certain,  and  that  was  that  the  first-born  of  all,  rich,  poor, 
high  and  low,  had  to  be  strangled  and  thrown  away. 
The  chief  of  the  Kerre  said,  "  If  I  had  a  child  now,  it 
would  have  to  be  thrown  away,"  laughing  as  if  it  were  a 
great  joke.  What  amused  him  really  was  that  I  should 
be  so  interested  in  their  custom. 

When  I  first  heard  of  the  custom  amongst  the  Kerre, 
I  conceived  the  idea  that  the  crocodile  here  might  be  held 
in  veneration,  as  it  is  by  at  least  one  other  tribe  I  have 
met,  and  that  this  might  be  a  sacrifice  to  a  deity  whose 
visible  form  took  the  shape  of  a  crocodile.  However,  I 
asked  most  carefully  about  this,  and  could  discover  no 
connection  between  the  crocodile  and  this  custom.  It 
just  happened  that  the  river  was  handy  to  throw  the 
babies  into,  but  if  they  were  on  a  journey  or  inland  they 
would  be  thrown  into  the  bush. 

There  are  numbers  of  crocodiles  in  the  Omo  River, 
and  they  are  very  bold  where  black  men  are  concerned, 
although  they  are  more  frightened  of  white  men.  I  have 
seen  a  man  sitting  on  the  shore,  and  a  crocodile  come  up 
to  the  edge  of  the  river  and  look  at  him  with  hungry  eyes, 
only  fifteen  or  twenty  yards  distant,  no  doubt  wishing 
that  he  would  come  a  little  nearer  to  the  edge  of  the  water. 
I  have  never  heard  of  a  case,  however,  of  a  crocodile 
entering  a  hut  or  village  at  night,  as  is  told  of  the  South 
American  cayman,  or  alligator.    These  reptiles  are  so 


236    OMO  RIVER  AND  NERI  DESERT 


slow  and  clumsy  on  land  that  it  is  difficult  to  imagine 
them  doing  anything  of  the  kind. 

From  the  above  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Kerre  are  a 
people  whom  it  would  be  worth  the  anthropologist's  while 
studying,  for  the  customs  narrated  above  are,  to  say  the 
least  of  it,  unusual.  Those  I  am  about  to  describe  are 
perhaps  equally  uncommon,  though  to  the  general  reader 
less  interesting. 

The  Kerre  men  eat  together,  instead  of  each  man  eating 
with  his  family.  I  believe  also  that  the  women  eat  quite 
apart  from  the  men,  but  of  this  point  I  am  not  certain. 
A  large  dish  of  pulse  is  cooked,  and  the  men  sit  round, 
each  helping  himself  from  the  common  dish,  and  eating 
with  a  wooden  spoon,  instead  of  with  the  hand,  as  is 
customary  amongst  even  civilized  natives,  such  as  coast 
Swahilis  and  Arabs. 

The  men  sleep  at  night  on  raised  platforms  in  the  open 
air,  several  on  each  platform.  The  floor  is  covered  with 
stalks  of  millet,  and  these  platforms  are  situated  in  the 
village  close  alongside  of  the  huts.  The  women  sleep  in 
the  huts,  and  are  only  joined  by  the  men  if  it  rains. 

They  have  a  few  cattle,  and  the  milk  of  these  they  sell 
one  to  another  in  exchange  for  millet-flour,  at  the  rate  of 
about  one  measure  of  milk  to  twice  that  measure  of  flour. 

Neither  the  Reshiat  nor  Kerre  disfigure  the  ears,  as  is 
customary  with  most  East  African  tribes,  and  to  a  lesser 
degree  with  the  Bako. 

I  have  already  remarked  that  natives  of  Bako  bring 
down  grain  to  exchange  for  salt.  I  was  told  that  there 
was  a  plain  covered  with  salt  to  the  west  of  the  Omo, 
which  from  its  description  must  be  like  that  which  I 
traversed  after  leaving  Maikona  and  Gamra.  The  salt 
from  this  plain  supplies  all  the  natives  of  the  surrounding 


OMO  RIVER  AND  NERI  DESERT  237 


country.  Apparently  the  Kerre  are  to  a  certain  extent 
purveyors  or  middlemen,  receiving  it  from  the  west  side 
of  the  Omo,  and  passing  it  on  to  the  tribes  to  the  north- 
east. 

The  Reshiat  represent  characteristics  of  both  the 
Turkana  and  the  Borana,  and  so  are  links  in  a  chain  which 
may  in  time,  as  more  becomes  known  about  the  peoples, 
connect  most  of  the  northern  tribes  of  non-Bantu  people. 
The  Kerre  bear  slight  resemblances  to  the  Reshiat  on  one 
side,  the  Turkana  on  another,  and  the  Banna  and  Bashada 
on  a  third. 

The  Donyiro,  living  to  the  west  of  the  Kerre,  are  a 
people  who  it  is  said  also  bear  a  great  resemblance  to  the 
Turkana. 

Whilst  on  the  subject  of  these  different  tribes  I  want 
the  reader  to  wade  through  a  few  dry  facts  about  the 
distribution  and  characteristics  of  certain  others.  By  so 
doing  he  will,  if  not  before  familiar  with  those  referred  to, 
be  able  to  follow,  I  hope,  with  more  interest  my  very 
meagre  accounts  of  the  tribes  subsequently  met  with. 

A  large  part  of  Central  and  Southern  Africa  is  inhabited 
by  negroid  tribes  universally  admitted  to  spring  from  one 
stock — viz.,  the  Bantu.  Although  there  are  a  great 
number,  each  with  its  own  languages,  customs,  and 
manners,  the  similarity  between  all  these  peoples  is  very 
marked — generally  speaking,  short,  tubby  men  and 
barrel-shaped  women,  with  coarse  and  flat  features  (but 
not  so  flat  as  those  of  the  pure  Negro)  and  woolly  hair. 

Their  languages  bear  such  an  extraordinary  resemblance 
that  it  is  only  necessary  to  hear  a  few  sentences,  and  a 
practised  ear  will  immediately  detect  that  it  is  a  Bantu 
language,  although  the  words  may  be  absolutely  un- 
intelligible. 


238    OMO  RIVER  AND  NERI  DESERT 


The  many  marked  similarities  of  these  languages  would 
fill  a  chapter  or  two,  so  it  will  suffice  to  say  that  their 
most  curious  and  unmistakable  peculiarity  is  the  "  con- 
cord." Nouns  are  divided  into  a  number  of  different 
classes,  each  of  which  has  its  prefix,  both  singular  and 
plural,  and  almost  every  word  in  the  sentence  must  agree 
with  the  noun  subject  by  the  addition  of  the  same  or  a 
similar  prefix. 

The  northernmost  Bantu  race  on  the  east  coast  is  the 
Kikuyu,  who  live,  roughly  speaking,  between  Mount 
Kenya  and  the  Aberdare  range.  Side  by  side  with  these 
live  a  non-Bantu  people,  the  Masai,  immediately  dis- 
tinguishable by  language  and  characteristics  as  springing 
from  a  very  different  stock — long,  thin,  wiry  men,  with 
Hamitic  caste  of  countenance  and  greater  intelligence 
than  the  Bantu. 

On  the  east  shore  of  Lake  Victoria,  to  the  west  of  the 
Masai,  live  the  Kavirondo,  a  people  differing  from  the 
Masai  in  language  and  many  other  respects,  yet  differing 
from  them  less  than  they  do  from  the  Bantu  peoples. 
After  crossing  the  lake  we  come  to  the  Baganda  and 
Banyoro,  northern  outposts  of  the  Bantu  races. 

On  the  other  side  of  these,  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile, 
we  meet  with  people  almost  identical  in  language  and 
other  respects  to  the  Kavirondo — viz.,  the  Acholi  and 
Alui.  Following  down  the  Nile-  we  meet  with  different 
tribes  of  Kavirondo -like  people,  the  Madi  and  Bari,  till 
gradually  these  merge  into  the  Dinka  and  Latuka,  the 
latter  more  like  the  Masai.  It  is  therefore  supposed  that 
the  Masai  originally  came  from  this  neighbourhood,  and 
pushed  down,  perhaps  via  Lake  Rudolf,  to  their  present 
quarters. 

East  of  the  Upper  Nile,  and  north  of  Lake  Victoria  and 


OMO  RIVER  AND  NERI  DESERT  239 


the  country  of  the  Kavirondo  and  the  Masai,  we  get 
various  tribes,  such  as  Turkana,  Suk,  Elgeyo,  etc.,  who 
are  neither  Masai  nor  Kavirondo,  yet  who  bear  resem- 
blances to  both.  We  thus  obtain  many  links  in  a  chain 
connecting  the  Kavirondo  and  the  Masai,  two  fairly 
different  peoples,  and  pointing  to  a  certain  similarity  of 
origin. 

So  much  for  these  peoples,  whose  origin  is  still  shrouded 
in  mystery.  Now  to  turn  to  the  Hamitic  people  of  the 
north.  We  have  the  Abyssinians,  chiefly  Amhara  and 
Tigre,  an  intelligent  people  who,  from  ancient  history, 
ruins,  etc.,  we  know  reached  a  fairly  advanced  state  of 
civilization.  This  was  probably  brought  about  by  the 
connection  known  to  exist  in  old  times  between  their 
country  and  ancient  Egypt  and  Arabia.  Since  then  they, 
for  many  centuries,  lapsed  into  semi-barbarism,  but  always 
maintained  a  little  of  the  arts  and  culture  they  had 
acquired. 

East  of  the  Abyssinians  are  the  Somalis,  a  highly 
intelligent  but  utterly  uncivilized  race,  who  probably 
represent  an  admixture  of  Arab  blood  with  some  un- 
civilized race. 

South  of  these  peoples  we  have  the  Galla,  a  race  less 
civilized  than  the  Abyssinians,  but  amongst  whom  traces 
of  an  ancient  civilization  exist  in  the  form  of  inscriptions 
and  monuments. 

Now,  although  the  intercourse  existing  between  ancient 
Egypt  and  Abyssinia  is  known,  it  is  not  known  how  far 
such  Egyptian  influence  spread  into  what  is  now  Southern 
Abyssinia,  or  how  far  Egyptian  blood  is  responsible  for 
the  non- Bantu  races.  Somalis  may  represent  a  mixture 
of  Arab  with  black  blood,  and  Masai  may  represent  a 
blend  of  Egyptian  and  black  blood. 


240    OMO  RIVER  AND  NERI  DESERT 


In  such  a  case  it  would  only  be  natural  to  expect  the 
tribes  farther  to  the  south  to  show  less  and  less  traces  of 
Egyptian  blood  and  intelligence,  and  more  characteristics 
of  the  black  savage.  Exceptions  to  this  would,  of  course, 
be  such  tribes  as  have  changed  quarters  en  masse,  as  the 
Masai  are  supposed  to  have  done. 

I  fear  that  I  have  not  sufficient  knowledge  of  my 
subject  to  be  able  to  draw  valuable  deductions  from  my 
very  meagre  observations  on  the  tribes  through  which  I 
passed.  Perhaps,  however,  a  more  long-sighted  reader 
will  be  able  to  see  in  my  subsequent  descriptions  of  peoples 
such  as  the  Uba  and  Wallamu  not  merely  a  bare  narra- 
tion of  characteristics  and  customs,  but  hints  at  a  subject 
of  much  wider  interest — the  possible  origin  of  these  people, 
and  the  light  they  throw  on  the  ancient  civilization  of 
these  parts. 

An  interesting  bit  of  information  I  gained  on  the  Omo 
River  was  that  a  new  illness  had  arrived  last  year  in  this 
neighbourhood.  From  the  description  the  natives  gave 
me  of  it  I  had  no  doubt  left  in  my  mind  that  it  was  sleep- 
ing-sickness to  which  they  referred,  although  I  had  no 
opportunity  of  seeing  a  case. 

I  am  afraid  that  if  this  news  is  true,  the  banks  of  the 
Omo  River  will  fast  become  depopulated,  and  such  tribes 
as  the  Reshiat,  Bume,  Kerre,  and  Marsha,  will  soon  cease 
to  exist,  as  no  precautions  are  likely  to  be  taken.  I  am 
at  a  loss  to  understand  how  this  cursed  insect  could  have 
reached  this  neighbourhood,  as  it  only  follows  the  course 
of  great  rivers  and  lakes.  I  suppose  that  it  must  have 
come  in  the  wet  season  via  the  Sobat  and  swamps  of  the 
Nile,  as  it  is  already  infesting  the  upper  waters  of  the 
latter  river. 

The  Abyssinian  in  charge  of  the  post  of  Karo  was  ill 


A  Bako  Native 


Natives  from  Bako  come  down  to  Karo  on  the  Omo  River  with  coffee  to  exchange  for  salt.  The 
man  shown  here  is  carrying  his  coffee  on  his  back,  and  his  gourd  of  water  and  provisions  for  the 
journey  in  his  hand.    Notice  the  way  the  hair  is  dressed  in  puffs  and  waves. 


OMO  RIVER  AND  NERI  DESERT  241 


with  fever  when  I  arrived,  but  came  to  me  afterwards, 
asking  for  medicine.  After  giving  him  some  quinine,  I 
asked  to  be  supplied  with  some  guides,  as  I  was  tired  of 
waiting  for  the  party  with  the  sheep,  or  of  rinding  my 
own  way.  After  a  lot  of  talk,  we  obtained  an  Amhara 
soldier  and  a  Bashada  native,  who  can  be  seen  in  the 
photograph  with  the  Bako  man. 

From  information  we  received,  we  had  one  other  camp 
on  the  Omo,  and  then  had  to  cross  the  Neri  Desert  to  the 
foot  of  the  mountains,  after  which  we  should  reach  the 
mountainous  country  of  Southern  Abyssinia. 

At  the  other  side  of  the  flat  country  which  bordered  the 
Omo  we  could  see  a  series  of  peaks,  amongst  which  was 
the  distant  flat-topped  mountain  of  Bako,  rising  some 
ten  thousand  feet.  South  of  this  were  two  remarkable 
peaks,  perhaps  eight  thousand  or  more  feet  in  height. 
These  were  both  shaped  alike,  though  several  days' 
journey  apart.  They  rose  up  as  square,  rocky-topped 
blocks,  with  precipitous  sides  looking  like  enormous 
battlemented  towers. 

We  had  only  one  more  waterless  stretch  to  cross,  and 
three  more  days  to  endure  the  heat  of  the  low  country, 
and  then  we  should  be  refreshed  by  the  cool  air  and 
running  streams  of  the  mountains.  My  men  were  over- 
joyed at  the  prospect  before  us.  As  for  myself,  I  should 
have  preferred  to  cross  the  Omo  and  make  my  way  through 
Kaffa  and  by  the  Sobat  to  the  Nile,  for  the  country  ahead 
was  too  civilized  for  my  taste. 

Often,  however,  as  I  saw  Narok  dragging  herself  along 
with  tongue  out,  while  the  mountains  were  already  in 
view,  I  wished  that  I  could  tell  her  that  she  had  only  a 
day  or  two  longer  to  suffer  from  the  heat  and  thirst. 

Led  by  our  new  guides,  we  left  Karo,  and  followed  a 

16 


242    OMO  RIVER  AND  NERI  DESERT 


narrow  path,  which  had  been  cut  by  the  Abyssinians  in 
the  dense  aloe  and  euphorbia  bush.  After  about  ten 
miles  we  suddenly  emerged  from  the  jungle  into  a  field  of 
millet,  and  at  the  other  side  of  this  field  we  could  see  the 
banks  of  the  Omo  again. 

Narok,  who  had  been  ranging  ahead,  was  halfway 
across  the  field,  and  making  for  the  river.  Fearing  that 
she  would  rush  into  the  water  in  her  usual  manner,  I 
shouted  and  whistled  to  her.  She  turned  round  and 
wagged  her  tail,  and  then  trotted  off  again,  unable  to 
resist  the  attractions  of  a  plunge  in  the  water. 

Tengeneza  and  I  started  running  after  her  as  hard  as 
we  could,  but  as  I  reached  the  bank  I  heard  the  most 
pitiful  cries.  A  moment  afterwards  I  arrived  at  the 
river's  edge,  and  saw  poor  Narok  but  a  yard  or  two  from 
the  bank  in  the  jaws  of  an  enormous  crocodile. 

Contrary  to  my  usual  practice,  I  had  not  my  rifle  in 
my  hand,  and  had  outrun  Tengeneza,  who  carried  it. 
Even  before  the  latter,  who  was  but  a  yard  or  two  behind, 
had  come  up  I  had  whipped  out  my  pistol,  and  put  five 
shots  into  the  brute  ;  but  it  was  too  late,  for  it  and  the 
dog  both  sank  together.  All  that  was  left  for  Tengeneza 
to  see  was  a  swirl  on  the  water  and  a  little  line  of  blood. 
Even  though  the  crocodile  was  dead,  there  was  no  hope, 
for  now  heads  were  popping  in  and  out  all  round. 

I  took  the  rifle  from  Tengeneza,  and  put  a  bullet  into 
every  head  that  showed  itself  anywhere  near,  and  then, 
after  waiting  some  time,  we  silently  moved  on.  The  name 
of  this  place  was  Lebuko,  and  we  were  going  to  camp 
here.  I  felt  now  that  I  must  get  away  from  the  scene  of 
this  sad  occurrence,  and  so  we  moved  on  another  four 
miles  along  the  river  to  a  place  called  Mugije. 

The  men  showed  their  sympathy  for  me  at  the  loss  of 


OMO  RIVER  AND  NERI  DESERT  243 


my  only  companion  by  remaining  quite  silent  all  day,  for 
which  consideration  I  felt  most  grateful  to  them. 

The  poor  camels  which  had  served  us  so  long  and  so 
well  were  now  quite  done  up.  The  grazing  along  the 
river-bank  had  not  agreed  with  them,  and  they  now  showed 
signs  of  giving  in.  Many  of  them  had  been  carrying  but 
nominal  loads  during  the  last  few  days,  and  now,  when  I 
came  to  inspect  them  carefully,  I  found  that  nearly  hall 
were  unfit  for  use. 

As  one  of  the  porters  was  ill,  we  rested  at  Mugije  for  a 
day,  and  during  that  time  I  made  up  my  mind  which  loads 
I  should  throw  away  to  relieve  the  camels.  After  careful 
consideration,  I  discarded  two  water-barrels,  some  beads, 
some  of  my  food-stores,  and  some  medicine.  The  men 
had,  on  the  whole,  been  remarkably  well ;  practically  the 
only  trouble  I  had  had  to  deal  with  had  been  a  few  sores 
and  cuts,  besides  hunger  and  thirst. 

At  Mugije  there  was  a  small  zariba,  in  which  were  two 
Abyssinians,  whose  duty  it  was  to  collect  taxes  from  the 
Marsha  tribe  living  on  the  opposite  bank.  These  men 
profited  largely  by  the  loads  we  discarded. 

While  we  were  at  this  place  several  Bako  people  passed 
to  and  fro,  either  going  down  with  grain  or  coming  back 
with  salt,  and  I  had  occasion  to  notice  how  they  carried 
their  loads.  The  load  is  made  up  and  tied  round  each 
end  with  a  strip  of  leather  or  aloe,  and  a  loop  is  left  in 
this  on  either  side.  The  porter  then  lies  on  his  back  on 
the  top  of  the  load,  and  slips  his  arm  through  these  loops. 
He  is  unable  to  rise  with  the  load  until  a  companion 
has  pulled  him  forward  into  a  sitting  position.  He  can 
then  rise  by  himself,  while  the  load  rides  on  his  back  like 
a  knapsack.  In  British  East  Africa  both  the  Masai  and 
Kikuyu  carry  their  loads  on  the  back,  but  the  former 

16—2 


244    OMO  RIVER  AND  NERI  DESERT 


support  the  weight  by  a  strap  passing  across  the 
chest,  whilst  the  latter  use  a  thong  passing  round  the 
forehead. 

From  Mugije  it  was  necessary  to  cross  the  Neri  Desert 
to  the  foot  of  the  mountains.  Putting  the  sick  porter 
on  the  mule,  we  started  at  10  a.m.,  and  by  10  p.m.  we 
had  only  marched  six  miles,  so  played  out  were  the 
camels.  Another  circumstance  which  made  travelling 
difficult  was  that  it  suddenly  commenced  to  rain,  and  the 
surface  of  the  path,  especially  where  there  were  little 
watercourses,  was  so  slippery  that  the  animals  could 
hardly  stand  up. 

At  one  time  I  returned  to  see  what  the  delay  was 
about,  and  found  that  there  was  a  small  nullah  in  the 
path,  only  a  few  yards  across,  which  completely  defeated 
the  camels,  so  slippery  had  its  sides  become.  The  men 
were  sitting  down,  resigned  to  wait  there  for  ever,  not  one 
of  them  having  taken  the  trouble  to  look  round  for  a 
better  path.  I  soon  found  a  way  round  through  the 
bush,  which  was  not  so  steep,  and  less  slippery  ;  but  now 
darkness  was  falling,  and  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that 
the  camels  could  be  induced  to  push  through  the  bush. 
Finally,  it  was  necessary  to  cut  a  way  for  them  with 
axes. 

My  men  had  been  praying  for  rain  for  the  last  month 
or  two,  and  I  had  often  said  to  them  :  "  One  day  Allah 
will  grant  your  prayer,  and  then  you  will  see  that  our 
state  will  be  worse  than  it  is  now,  for  the  country  we  are 
going  to  has  very  bad  rain."  Now  my  words  had  come 
true,  for  from  here  onwards  our  progress  was  impeded  by 
rain  and  mud,  swollen  rivers  and  marshes,  till  we  finally 
reached  the  desert  again,  in  the  Danakil  country. 

However,  this  shower  was  only  the  forerunner  of  the 


OMO  RIVER  AND  NERI  DESERT  245 


heavy  rains  we  were  to  come  in  for,  and  next  day  the 
path  soon  dried  up,  leaving  a  few  pools  here  and  there, 
for  which  we  were  thankful,  as  otherwise  we  should  have 
only  had  the  limited  supply  of  water  left  in  our  remaining 
tanks. 

The  country  was  more  open  the  next  day,  and  we  saw 
a  certain  amount  of  game,  giraffe,  topi,  and  hartebeest. 
The  giraffe  were  stalking  across  the  road,  quite  uncon- 
scious of  our  presence,  till  I  tried  to  snapshot  them,  and 
then  they  got  the  alarm,  and  before  I  could  get  the 
camera  into  action  they  had  disappeared  into  the  bush. 

After  a  whole  day's  march,  we  reached  the  foot  of  the 
hills  and  the  wooded  banks  of  the  Neri  stream.  The 
water  was  muddy  and  warm  with  the  rain-water  off  the 
hot  earth. 

At  Neri  was  a  large  tree,  on  which  the  Abyssinians  and 
others  passing  had  carved  their  names,  and  amongst  them 
I  deciphered  that  of  Azach  Kalile,  much  to  the  interest 
of  our  Abyssinian  guide,  who  could  not  read  or  write. 
In  the  riverside  trees  could  be  heard  the  croaking  of 
Colobus  monkeys — a  sound  we  had  also  heard  in  the 
Omo  forest  belt. 

In  front  of  us  was  the  precipitous  side  of  the  mountains, 
at  the  top  of  which  we  learnt  was  a  station  called  Kurre, 
several  thousand  feet  above  us. 

The  camels  were  unwilling  to  eat,  and  it  became  evident 
that,  not  only  were  they  played  out,  but  had  also  eaten 
something  poisonous,  as  this  alone  would  account  for 
their  abstention  from  food  and  the  unaccountable  way  in 
which  they  had  all  suddenly  given  out.  We  afterwards 
learnt  that  there  were  several  plants  known  to  the 
Abyssinians  which  are  poisonous  to  camels.  Although 
they  say  that  these  plants  are  not  found  on  this  side  of 


246    OMO  RIVER  AND  NERI  DESERT 


the  mountain,  they  may  be  in  error,  or  there  may  be  some 
other  plants  equally  poisonous. 

In  any  case  it  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  none  of  the  tribes 
from  the  Reshiat  onwards  possessed  any  camels,  although 
they  had  other  stock,  and  the  country  appeared  suitable 
for  these  animals.  All  the  other  tribes,  such  as  Turkana, 
Borana,  and  Rendile,  own  camels,  and  even  the  Samburr 
have  a  few  for  baggage  purposes.  As  the  Samburr  have 
at  one  time  freely  intermarried  with  the  Reshiat,  it  is 
curious  that  this  people  have  no  camels,  if  there  is  not 
some  good  reason  against  it. 

It  would  have  been  useless  to  try  to  proceed  even  along 
the  flat  with  loaded  camels  ;  much  less  were  they  likely 
to  be  able  to  ascend  the  steep  mountain- track  in  front 
of  us.  The  only  course  open  to  me  was  to  ascend  to 
Kurre,  and  see  if  any  help  would  there  be  forthcoming  to 
get  our  loads  up  the  hill. 

I  therefore  decided  to  make  the  ascent  the  next  day, 
taking  with  me  Abdi  and  some  of  the  men  with  my 
private  loads,  leaving  Omari  and  the  rest  of  the  men  with 
the  camels  and  the  bulk  of  the  things. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


A  MOUNTAINOUS  COUNTRY 

From  our  camp  on  Neri  stream  we  marched  a  few  miles 
to  the  foot  of  Kurre  Mountain,  and  then  commenced  a 
steep  ascent.  The  path  was  at  times  very  steep,  while 
at  other  times  it  wound  round  the  side  of  a  razor-edged 
ridge,  with  a  precipitous  drop  into  the  valley  below.  The 
path  was  fairly  broad,  being  a  mule-track  made  by  the 
Abyssinians  ;  but  if  any  animal  were  to  fall  over  the  edge 
it  would  certainly  roll  to  the  bottom — perhaps  a  thou- 
sand feet  below. 

Forty  minutes'  steep  climb  brought  us  to  the  top  of  the 
first  series  of  hills,  another  forty  minutes  of  winding  up  along 
the  side  of  the  narrow  precipitous  ridges,  then  a  drop  into 
a  little  valley,  and  we  reached  a  clear  stream  called  Balo. 

High  up  on  the  summit  of  the  mountain  in  front  of  us 
a  large  sycamore  was  pointed  out  as  our  goal.  After  a 
rest  at  Balo,  another  steep  climb  of  an  hour  and  a  quarter 
brought  us  to  this  tree  at  the  summit,  and  just  over  the 
brow  was  a  big  village  of  mixed  Abyssinians  and  Bako. 
Probably  the  Bako  were  chiefly  wives  and  children  of 
the  Abyssinian  soldiers. 

Although  the  climb  had  been  steep  and  severe,  the 
mountain  air  was  so  cool  and  fresh,  and  such  a  delightful 
change  from  the  stifling,  dust-laden,  hot  wind  of  the  plain 
below,  that  fatigue  was  hardly  felt. 

247 


248     A  MOUNTAINOUS  COUNTRY 


The  chief  soldier  in  the  village  came  out  to  greet  me, 
and  I  managed  to  make  him  understand  what  I  wished  to 
say  by  pointing  to  words  in  my  vocabularies.  When  my 
men  arrived,  he  showed  us  a  camping-ground,  and  brought 
me  a  small  gourd  of  beautiful  white  honey. 

This  man  was  most  pleasant  during  my  stay  at  Kurre, 
and  spent  nearly  all  day  with  me,  teaching  me  Amharic. 
However,  he  was  not  the  most  important  man  at  Kurre, 
as  presently  three  old  men,  who  had  been  sent  for  on  my 
arrival,  rode  up  on  mules,  each  with  an  attendant  carrying 
his  rifle.  The  chief  of  these  was  called  Basha  Gabri — a 
very  cross-looking  old  man  with  a  limp. 

A  basha  is  perhaps  the  equivalent  of  a  captain  or 
centurion.  However,  in  the  Abyssinian  feudal  system 
there  is  no  fixed  number  of  men  under  each  rank,  so  per- 
haps the  old  English  "  esquire  "  would  be  a  better  de- 
scription of  his  title. 

Basha  Gabri  said  that  the  Fitorari  (Baron  or  Governor) 
of  Bako  must  be  immediately  informed  of  my  arrival, 
and  that  I  must  await  the  answer  here. 

As  I  was  sitting  here,  two  Arabs  appeared,  and  one  of 
these,  whose  name  was  Kassim,  claimed  consideration, 
on  the  score  that  he  was  a  British  subject.  He  really 
came  from  near  Hodeida,  but,  as  he  had  lived  a  year  or 
two  at  Laheg,  north  of  Aden,  he  considered  himself  quite 
British,  as  this  Sultanate  is  under  our  protection. 

I  took  him  on  as  interpreter,  and  he  accompanied  me  as 
far  as  Uba,  and  made  himself  most  useful,  as  my  Amharic 
was  not  of  much  use  as  yet,  and  Abdi  knew  only  Galla. 
The  other  Arab,  Said,  lived  in  the  village  with  theAbys- 
sinians,  whilst  Kassim,  who  had  married  a  Wallamu 
woman,  lived  apart,  as  he  did  not  get  on  very  well  with 
them. 


A  MOUNTAINOUS  COUNTRY  249 


I  tried  to  get  the  Abyssinians  to  send  natives  to  fetch 
up  my  loads,  but  they  refused,  although  very  politely,  to 
do  any t lung  until  they  had  heard  from  the  Fitorari. 

The  next  day  there  was  no  answer  from  the  Fitorari, 
and  I  was  getting  impatient  at  the  delay  ;  moreover,  I 
had  had  a  letter  from  Omari  to  say  that  one  of  the  camels 
was  dead,  and  several  more  dying.  So  I  announced  my 
intention  of  proceeding.  Basha  Gabri  said  that  he  could 
not  allow  me  to  proceed  till  he  had  heard  from  the 
Fitorari.  As  the  old  man  had  prevented  my  obtaining 
some  of  the  local  natives  to  go  down  for  my  loads,  although 
they  were  quite  willing,  and  was  trying  to  obstruct  me 
in  various  ways,  I  felt  rather  annoyed  with  him. 

I  therefore  told  him  that  I  had  Menelek's  leave  to  pro- 
ceed through  his  country,  so  it  was  not  likely  I  was 
going  to  be  stopped  by  a  little  man  like  himself.  When 
I  wanted  to  go  on,  I  would  go  on,  and  when  I  wanted  to 
stop,  I  would  stop.  He  replied  that  he  could  not  let  me 
go  on  without  leave  from  the  Fitorari. 

To  this  I  replied  that  I  was  going  on  at  a  certain  hour, 
and  so,  if  he  wanted  me  to  stop,  he  would  have  to  turn 
out  all  his  soldiers.  I  felt  perfectly  certain  that  he 
would  never  risk  the  displeasure  of  his  superior  by 
doing  this.  To  my  surprise,  my  friend  who  had  been 
teaching  me  Amharic,  although  very  junior  to  the  trium- 
virate of  old  men  who  were  arranging  my  destinies, 
stoutly  took  my  part,  and  said  that  I  was  perfectly  right. 

The  old  men  were  still  sulking  over  this,  when  suddenly 
a  letter  arrived  from  the  Fitorari  saying  that  porters  were 
to  be  sent  to  get  my  loads,  and  asking  me  to  come  to  see 
him  at  Bako.  The  bearer  of  the  letter  also  brought  a 
sheep  as  a  present. 

Old  Basha  Gabri  jumped  up,  and  hobbled  off  as  fast 


250     A  MOUNTAINOUS  COUNTRY 


as  his  game-leg  would  permit  him  to  make  arrangements, 
and  presently  returned  with  a  gourd  of  honey  as  a  present, 
saying  that  he  felt  ashamed  at  having  given  me  nothing 
so  far,  but  that  his  house  was  far  away. 

I  soon  got  under  way  for  Bako — a  high  mountain  to  our 
east,  often  covered  with  cloud.  To  the  north  of  this  is  a 
huge  flat-topped  mountain,  called  Shangama,  at  the  top 
of  which  is  said  to  be  another  Abyssinian  station.  It  must 
be  considerably  higher  than  Bako,  as  the  top  was  hardly 
ever  visible,  whilst  we  frequently  had  a  view  of  Bako. 

I  left  Abdi  behind  to  superintend  the  arrangements  of 
fetching  the  loads  up,  and  took  Kassim  with  me,  while 
Basha  Gabri  accompanied  us  part  of  the  way.  The  old 
man  tried  to  take  us  a  long  way  round,  but  Kassim 
having  told  me  which  was  the  shortest  route,  I  declined 
to  take  his  advice.  It  afterwards  transpired  that  he 
wanted  to  take  us  out  of  our  way  so  as  to  pass  his  house. 
When  we  came  to  the  upper  waters  of  Neri,  the  same 
stream  that  we  had  crossed  on  the  plains  below,  he  said 
good-bye,  as  his  jurisdiction  ended  here. 

We  then  ascended,  by  steep  and  winding  paths,  to  the 
summit  of  Bako  Pass  above  us.  Here  we  camped,  with 
Bako's  summit  rising  a  thousand  feet  above  us  to  the 
north,  and  other  big  mountains  to  our  south.  Just 
before  reaching  the  summit,  we  came  through  a  grove  of 
very  big  coffee-trees. 

Bako  grows  products  of  civilization,  such  as  coffee  and 
hat  (an  Arab  stimulant),  which  are  not  found  again  until 
one  reaches  the  heart  of  Abyssinia.  Farther  north,  there 
is  also  said  to  be  much  coffee. 

Now,  the  coffee-trees  we  saw  were  much  more  than  ten 
years  of  age,  whilst  the  Abyssinians  have  only  occupied 
this  territory  for  about  that  length  of  time.    The  Bako 


A  MOUNTAINOUS  COUNTRY  251 


are  much  too  primitive  to  grow  the  civilized  products  of 
hat  and  coffee,  so  to  what  old  civilization  are  we  to 
attribute  these  ?  When  we  come  to  the  Wallamu  to  the 
north-east,  I  will  try  to  show  that  these  people  are,  in 
my  opinion,  a  highly  civilized  people,  compared  with  the 
usual  African  native,  especially  when  it  is  remembered 
that  they  were  cut  off,  before  the  Abyssinian  advent,  from 
the  exterior  world. 

As  to  the  Bako,  I  have  already  described  the  way  the 
men  do  their  hair  and  the  palm-leaf  skirts  worn  by  the 
women.  The  men  make  for  themselves  funny  little  caps 
out  of  the  leaf  of  the  wild  banana,  a  fresh  one  every  day  ; 
while  the  women  very  often  string  a  few  strips  of  these 
leaves,  freshly  gathered,  over  their  skirts. 

The  hat3  may  be  to  protect  the  hair,  but  I  cannot 
imagine  what  the  women  wear  the  strips  for,  as  the  lower 
parts  of  their  persons  are  already  well  covered  with  palm- 
leaves.  As  the  root  of  the  wild  banana  is  their  staple 
food,  perhaps  it  bears  some  religious  interpretation. 

The  agricultural  implements  in  Bako  are  about  the 
most  primitive  I  have  ever  seen.  To  remove  the  turf 
from  the  surface  of  the  ground  they  use  long,  pointed  poles. 
One  sees  a  row  of  natives  with  one  of  these  poles  in  each 
hand,  driving  them  into  the  ground,  and  then  levering 
up  a  sod.  When  the  surface  has  been  broken  in  this  way, 
another  agricultural  implement  is  brought  into  play  to 
further  break  up  the  ground.  This  is  a  little  pick,  made 
of  two  fire-hardened  sticks,  lashed  side  by  side,  and 
fastened  to  a  third  stick  by  way  of  a  handle. 

A  curious  thing  about  the  Bako  is  that  there  are  three 
tribes  living  amongst  them,  and  subservient  to  them, 
resembling  in  this  respect  the  Tumals,  Midgans,  and 
Yebirs  of  the  Somali.    Two  of  these  tribes,  the  Gitamana 


252     A  MOUNTAINOUS  COUNTRY 


and  Fuga,  are  blacksmiths  and  leather-dressers,  as  are  the 
Turnals  and  Yebirs.  I  could  not  ascertain  what  the 
third  tribe,  the  Ghansa,  did,  as  to  all  my  inquiries  I 
received  the  reply  that  they  were  just  slaves  or  servants. 

While  we  were  pitching  camp  under  Bako  Mountain  a 
pleasant-looking  youth  watched  the  proceedings  with 
great  interest,  and  then  went  away,  and  presently  returned 
with  a  present  of  a  chicken,  milk,  eggs,  and  grain.  He 
was  a  Jima,  a  tribe  living  to  the  north  of  the  route  we 
took  to  Addis  Ababa,  and  owned  a  little  village  of  a  few 
huts  close  by  our  camp. 

During  my  stay  at  Bako,  which  was  several  days,  he 
was  most  kind  and  attentive,  and  showed  me  the  greatest 
hospitality,  unlike  the  usual  native  hospitality,  purely  dis- 
interested. As  a  rule,  the  native  host,  after  making  his 
first  present,  is  ceaseless  in  his  clamourings  for  presents. 
Many  of  the  Abyssinians  were  very  trying  in  this  way,  as,  if 
they  were  not  kept  at  a  distance,  there  was  a  crowd  round 
one's  tent  all  day  asking  for  everything  they  saw.  This 
Jima  youth,  however,  never  asked  for  a  single  thing,  and 
came  several  times  a  day  to  find  out  if  there  was  anything 
I  wanted. 

A  steep  path  ascended  to  the  stronghold  of  Bako  from 
close  by  our  camp,  and  all  day  long  a  stream  of  soldiers, 
mounted  or  on  foot,  was  to  be  seen  crawling  up  and  down 
the  mountain  like  ants. 

The  Fitorari,  I  was  told,  was  away  for  the  day.  Shortly 
after  sunset  a  procession  came  down  the  mountain 
towards  my  camp,  stopping  a  few  hundred  yards  off,  in  the 
usual  Abyssinian  courteous  manner,  for  permission  to 
approach  any  nearer.  On  being  told  to  approach,  an  old 
man  came  forward  dressed  in  a  shamma  (or  blanket)  of 
red  and  white  cotton,  and  wearing  a  sword,  with  a  rhino- 


A  MOUNTAINOUS  COUNTRY  253 


horn  hilt,  silver  inlaid.  The  Abyssinians  always  wear 
their  swords  on  the  right  side,  and  for  this  reason  they 
mount  from  what  is  to  us  the  off  side  of  an  animal. 

The  old  man,  whose  name  was  Basha  Tazama,  said 
that  the  Fitorari  had  only  just  returned,  and  had  sent 
him  to  look  after  me,  and  he  himself  would  come  in  the 
morning.  Two  little  basket-work  stools  were  then  brought 
forward,  and  on  being  uncovered,  a  number  of  thin  red 
breads,  as  made  by  the  Sudi,  were  disclosed.  Two  pots 
of  tej  (honey-wine),  a  large  calabash  of  honey,  and  a  little 
pot  of  red  sauce,  were  also  presented.  The  Basha  then 
said  good-night,  and  went  off  to  his  house,  which  was 
about  a  mile  away  under  the  hill. 

Sadi  was  very  curious  to  know  what  the  red  sauce  was. 
Thinking  that  it  might  be  red  pepper,  I  tried  a  very  small 
quantity,  which  did  not  taste  particularly  hot,  so  I  said 
that  I  did  not  know  what  it  was.  Sadi  then  had  a  try  ; 
he  took  a  large  spoonful,  and  after  invoking  the  name  of 
Allah,  popped  it  in  his  mouth.  After  much  spluttering, 
with  streaming  eyes,  he  pronounced  it  pure  red  pepper. 
We  found  out  afterwards  that  it  was  made  of  several 
ingredients,  but  chiefly  of  a  kind  of  dhal,  or  lentil  flour, 
mixed  with  butter  and  red  pepper.  As  a  sauce  it  was  most 
excellent  when  freshly  made,  and  almost  as  good  as  tobasco. 

Next  day  an  enormous  procession  of  servants  and 
soldiers,  mounted  and  on  foot,  was  seen  coming  down 
the  steep  mountain-path.  They  drew  up  and  dismounted 
a  couple  of  hundred  yards  from  my  tent,  and  on  being 
told  to  approach,  Fitorari  Mashasha  came  forward  with 
Basha  Tazama.  He  was  a  tall,  good-looking  man,  dressed 
in  a  long  flowing  robe  of  black  silk,  with  a  soft  felt  hat. 
He  and  the  Basha  sat  in  my  tent,  and  he  told  me  that  I 
was  to  ask  the  Basha  for  anything  I  wanted. 


254      A  MOUNTAINOUS  COUNTRY 


He  himself  and  the  Basha  did  not  appear  to  be  able  to 
read  or  write,  but  both  had  smart,  intelligent  sons,  about 
twelve  years  of  age,  who  acted  as  their  scribes.  When  I 
was  hung  up  for  a  word  I  would  look  it  up  in  my  vocabu- 
lary, and  point  to  it,  and  then  they  would  explain  to  their 
fathers.  However,  at  this  time  Kassim  did  most  of  the 
interpreting. 

The  Fitorari  only  stayed  a  short  time,  and  then  went 
away  I  said  that  I  would  call  on  him  the  next  day,  at 
which  he  expressed  himself  very  pleased 

As  we  were  at  Bako  the  heavy  rains  I  had  been  fearing 
broke,  and  from  now  onwards  it  poured  during  the  whole 
of  our  journey  to  Addis  Ababa,  rendering  the  ordinary 
valley  routes  impossible. 

Bakari,  the  cook,  did  his  best  to  stop  the  rain  by  Swahili 
magic,  whilst  Sadi  invoked  the  name  of  Abu  Bakr,  but 
all  to  no  purpose.  The  latter  is  a  patron  saint  of  travel- 
lers, and  prayers  to  him  are  generally  supposed  to  be 
efficacious.  I  asked  Sadi  what  would  happen  supposing 
one  man  was  on  a  journey,  and  prayed  to  Abu  Bakr  to 
stop  the  rain,  and  another  man,  sitting  at  home,  prayed  to 
Sheikh  Abdul  Kadr  for  rain  for  his  crops.  Sadi's  answer 
was  very  simple  ;  the  man  would  get  rain  for  his  crops, 
but  at  the  edge  of  his  fields  the  rain  would  stop,  so  as  to 
permit  the  man  on  the  journey  to  proceed  in  comfort. 

The  Swahili  methods  of  stopping  rain  are  as  simple  as 
they  are  ineffective,  so  I  will  give  them  for  the  benefit  of 
the  traveller.  An  axe  is  dipped  for  a  moment  into  the 
fire,  and  then  stuck  up  in  a  tree.  An  alternative  method 
is  to  dip  a  long  spoon  in  the  ashes,  and  then  stick  it  upright 
in  the  ground.  Later  on,  when  I  called  out  at  intervals  to 
Bakari  to  stand  up  his  spoon  as  the  rain  was  coming  on, 
he  professed  himself  sceptical  of  its  real  virtue.  However, 


A  MOUNTAINOUS  COUNTRY  25.5 


such  scepticism  is  only  a  temporary  phase  with  natives,  as 
no  amount  of  failure  will  really  convince  them  of  the 
futility  of  charms  and  black  magic. 

Perhaps  even  at  this  very  moment  Bakari  is  holding 
forth  to  a  credulous  group  of  porters  on  the  wonderful 
way  in  which  he  staved  of!  rain  for  months  in  the  country 
of  the  Wahabashi,  and  if  they  do  not  believe,  they  can 
go  and  ask  the  Bwana  Komandari  (as  they  called  me). 

It  was  very  wretched  for  the  mule  having  to  stand 
tethered  in  the  rain  all  night  and  day,  till  the  old  Basha, 
of  his  own  accord,  carried  him  off  with  the  sais  to  live  in 
his  house. 

The  Abyssinian  chief  of  a  little  village  under  Bako 
visited  my  camp  from  time  to  time,  his  arrival  always 
being  announced  by  a  few  very  abusive  words  in  Swahili, 
said  in  the  politest  manner  imaginable  These  he  had 
learnt  from  an  East  Coast  Arab  whom  he  had  met,  and  he 
used  to  address  my  men,  much  to  their  amusement,  with 
these  words,  as  if  he  were  bestowing  the  greatest  compli- 
ment on  them. 

I  went  up  to  see  the  Fitorari  on  the  day  after  his  visit 
to  me.  As  Bako  Mountain  is  a  typical  amba,  or  Abys- 
sinian mountain  stronghold,  I  will  describe  it.  The 
Abyssinians  are  a  race  of  mountaineers,  and  each  chief  or 
governor  looks  out  for  some  precipitous  mountain  on 
which  to  live  with  his  people,  where  they  will  be  safe  in 
time  of  trouble. 

A  long,  steep  ascent  by  a  winding  mule-track  brought  us 
at  last  to  a  small  hilly  plateau  near  the  top  of  the 
mountain.  On  this,  at  the  summit  of  different  hills,  were 
dotted  about  little  groups  of  huts,  while  horses,  mules, 
cattle,  and  goats  grazed  untended.  In  the  flatter  ground 
between  the  rises  was  cultivation.    The  only  possible 


256     A  MOUNTAINOUS  COUNTRY 


approach  to  this  plateau  for  a  hostile  force  was  by  the 
track  we  had  ascended,  or  a  second  one  equally  steep  and 
winding. 

The  rest  of  the  mountain  was  too  steep  to  be  practicable 
for  an  enemy.  At  Bako  there  was  but  little  cultivation, 
the  greater  part  of  the  crops  of  the  occupants  being  below 
the  mountain.  However,  some  of  the  ambas,  having  a 
broad  expanse  of  open  country  on  the  top,  are  self- 
supporting,  and  so  could  sustain  a  siege  indefinitely. 

The  Fitorari's  residence  I  will  not  describe,  as  it  was 
dirty  and  poor,  and  perhaps  not  typical  of  an  Abyssinian 
governor's  house.  He  gave  me  tej  and  biris  (honey  and 
water)  to  drink,  but  he  himself  did  not  take  any,  as  it  was 
Lent.  The  Abyssinian  Lent  lasts  two  months,  and 
during  this  time  they  fast  for  most  of  the  day,  and  do  not 
indulge  in  certain  things,  such  as  milk.  Fitorari  Mashasha 
is  the  Governor  of  Bako,  but  he,  in  his  turn,  is  under  Dejaz 
Biru  (an  abbreviation  of  Dejazmach  Biru),  who  is  the 
Governor  of  the  whole  province,  and  lives  at  a  place  called 
Uba. 

Every  Saturday  there  is  a  market  on  the  top  of  Bako. 
Merchants  appear  with  calico,  shammas  (locally  made 
blankets),  sheep,  cattle,  honey,  and  other  local  products. 
In  Abyssinia  one  is  able  to  get  more  variety  in  the  way  of 
local  food-supplies  than  in  any  other  part  of  Africa  I  know 
of.  On  the  way  through  the  Rendile  country  nothing 
but  sheep  and  bad  camel-milk  was  obtainable,  whilst  in 
many  other  parts  chicken  and  sweet  potatoes  are  all  that 
one  can  procure. 

Bako  was  indeed  a  land  of  plenty  after  the  very  hard 
fare  one  had  had  coming  through  the  low  country. 
Basha  Tazama's  wife  made  butter  and  breads  of  a  whiter- 
coloured  flour  for  me  ;  the  Jima  youth  brought  me  milk, 


A  MOUNTAINOUS  COUNTRY  257 


chickens,  eggs,  sweet  potatoes,  and  other  kinds  of  bread, 
and  the  Fitorari  sent  honey  and  red-pepper  sauce,  whilst 
after  the  first  rains  the  whole  ground  was  covered  with 
mushrooms. 

I  visited  the  Jima's  house  to  see  how  the  large  flat 
breads  are  made,  and  Ins  wife  gave  a  special  performance 
for  my  benefit.  The  red  flour  is  stirred  into  a  kind  of 
liquid  dough,  which  is  poured  carefully  all  over  a  large 
earthenware  plate,  heated  over  the  fire,  till  it  covers  it 
completely.  In  a  few  seconds  it  is  baked,  and  the  bread 
is  rolled  off  the  plate.  In  size  it  is  about  one  and  a  half 
to  two  feet  across,  and  not  thicker  than  a  biscuit,  quite 
soft,  and  with  holes  like  a  crumpet  on  the  side  uppermost 
on  the  plate. 

I  have  never  seen  any  native  hut  approaching  in  any 
way  the  clean  and  tidy  appearance  of  this  youth's  hut. 
The  floor  was  carefully  swept,  and  consisted  of  well- 
smoothed  and  baked  mud.  Halfway  round  one  wall 
was  a  raised  seat  of  the  same  material,  covered  with 
tanned  skins.  One  part  of  the  hut  was  screened  off  as  a 
sleeping  apartment,  while  another  corner  was  devoted  to 
cooking.  In  different  recesses  round  the  walls  the  various 
utensils  were  stowed  away,  whilst  others  were  hung  up. 

Basha  Tazama's  wife  came  to  call  on  me  one  day,  and 
wanted  to  know  why  I  had  not  been  to  visit  her.  She 
was  a  most  delightful  old  lady,  and  most  friendly.  She 
sat  on  the  end  of  my  bed  and  drank  tea,  and  when  she 
left  I  gave  her  a  coloured  handkerchief,  and  a  looking- 
glass,  and  some  medicine.  She  then  mounted  her  mule, 
and  rode  off  with  an  agility  surprising  in  such  an  aged 
person. 

This  same  looking-glass  the  Basha  had  seen  lying  on 
my  table,  and  he  had  evinced  a  great  interest  in  it.  On 

17 


258     A  MOUNTAINOUS  COUNTRY 


my  offering  to  give  it  to  him,  he  said  :  "  What  does  an 
old  man  like  me  want  with  a  looking-glass  V 

However,  old  though  he  was,  he  had  not  quite  put  away 
all  vain  thoughts,  for  every  day  when  he  came  to  see  me 
he  used  to  take  the  glass  and  examine  himself  carefully  in 
it,  smoothing  his  beard,  and  preening  himself  during  the 
whole  of  his  stay.  When  he  finally  put  down  the  glass, 
I  knew  that  it  meant  that  he  was  going.  He  also  had  a 
genial  way  of  wanting  to  try  my  pipes,  toothbrush,  and 
other  toilet  accessories. 

Next  time  he  came  I  asked  after  his  wife,  and  he  said 
that  he  had  not  been  on  speaking  terms  with  her  since 
she  had  paid  me  a  visit.  When  I  inquired  as  to  the 
reason  of  this,  he  said  that  I  had  given  her  some  medicine, 
and  when  she  had  got  home  he  had  asked  for  half  of  it, 
but  she  had  refused  him,  and  eaten  it  all  herself. 

The  Abyssinians  are  mad  on  medicines,  and  during 
my  stay  at  Bako  I  had  a  crowd  clamouring  for  medicine 
from  morning  to  night.  I  had  to  start  consulting  hours, 
and  at  other  times  put  on  sentries  to  keep  my  would-be 
patients  away.  They  were  as  a  rule  very  ungrateful 
patients  ;  of  about  a  hundred  people  I  attended  to  here 
and  at  Uba,  in  only  two  cases  did  the  recipients  show  any 
gratitude.  In  both  these  cases  they  were  women,  and 
they  brought  me  a  present  of  bread  and  flour  afterwards. 

One  man  brought  his  wife,  a  pretty  Tigre  girl,  to  be 
attended.  She  had  a  nasty  cut  on  her  forehead,  which  had 
inflamed,  and  affected  her  ear.  I  asked  how  it  had  hap- 
pened, and  he  said  that  he  had  hit  her  on  the  head.  I 
told  him  :  "  You  have  injured  your  wife,  and  now  you 
bring  her  to  me,  a  stranger,  to  cure  ;  it  is  your  business  to 
cure  her  ;  a  man  has  no  right  to  hit  his  wife  like  that." 
He  replied  that  it  was  customary  for  them  to  beat  their 


A  MOUNTAINOUS  COUNTRY  259 


wives  ;  perhaps  it  was  different  in  the  country  from  which 
I  had  come.  To  this  I  said  that  it  was  customary  in  many 
countries  to  beat  women,  but  never  on  the  head.  His 
answer  was  that  Satan  had  entered  into  his  heart  for  a 
moment,  but  now  he  was  very  sorry,  and,  moreover,  he 
had  been  severely  punished,  as  he  had  no  one  to  cook  his 
food  for  him,  so  I  must  do  my  best  to  cure  her. 

Sadi  was  always  full  of  contempt  for  the  really  fearless 
way  the  Abyssinian  tried  anything  in  the  way  of  medicine 
or  food  he  saw  or  was  given.  At  one  place  some  of  them 
brought  a  tin  of  brown  boot-grease  to  me,  and  asked  what 
it  was.  This  they  had  got  hold  of  somehow,  and  had  been 
tasting  it  with  the  idea  that  it  was  either  some  valuable 
medicine  or  a  sweetmeat.  Sadi  used  to  say  :  "  I  should 
like  to  come  to  this  country  with  a  medicine  which  would 
kill  people  if  they  smelt  it,  for  all  the  Wahabashi  would 
rush  to  smell  it  at  once." 

I  paid  a  return  call  at  Basha  Tazama's  house,  and  was 
received  very  hospitably.  The  Abyssinian,  being  a 
Christian,  is  only  allowed  one  wife,  but  he  manages  some- 
how to  collect  children  from  other  sources.  The  old  Basha 
had  his  quiver  very  full,  as  there  were  quantities  of 
children  of  all  ages,  and  he  claimed  the  whole  lot  as  his 
offspring . 

I  had  brought  the  old  man  a  present  of  twill,  and  he  at 
once  unrolled  it,  and  measured  it  out  several  times  in  my 
presence  to  see  how  much  I  had  given  him  The  proverb 
about  the  gift  horse  seems  not  to  have  reached  Abyssinia 
yet,  or,  indeed,  any  other  part  of  Africa.  Not  only  is  the 
gift  horse  looked  in  the  mouth,  but  it  is  generally  also  said 
to  be  an  old  crock,  whether  that  is  the  case  or  not. 

However,  at  heart  the  Abyssinians — and  especially 
their  womenfolk — have  very  friendly  dispositions,  and  I 

17—2 


260     A  MOUNTAINOUS  COUNTRY 


was  especially  struck  with  the  very  open  handed  way  they 
treated  the  sais  who  had  lived  with  them  in  company 
with  the  mule.  From  him  they  could  expect  no  return 
for  the  kindnesses  they  heaped  upon  him. 

When  the  evening  repast  was  served,  Mrs.  Tazama 
and  some  of  the  girls  personally  waited  on  me,  and  spread 
butter  and  sauce  for  me  with  their  fingers — acts  I  tried 
to  accept  in  the  kindly  spirit  in  which  they  were  meant. 

The  Abyssinian  ladies'  dress  is  not  becoming.  It  con- 
sists merely  of  a  sack-shaped  dress  of  cotton  hung  from 
the  shoulder,  and  sometimes  tied  round  the  waist  with  a 
shawl  or  girdle.  When  they  go  out,  they  wear  over  this 
a  shamma  and  an  Italian  organ-grinder's  hat.  This  head- 
gear is  also  affected  by  the  men. 

The  shamma  is  a  product  of  Abyssinia.  It  is  a  blanket 
made  of  loosely  spun  cotton,  grown  locally,  woven  by  a 
kind  of  Malay  hitch.  The  dress  is  made  of  the  same 
material,  which  is  soft  and  warm.  However,  the  cotton 
only  remains  white  for  a  day  or  two,  and  so  a  clean  white 
one  is  seldom  seen,  and  everyone  looks  filthy  dirty. 
Some  of  the  shammas  are  made  with  a  broad  red  stripe 
down  the  centre. 

The  wealthier  men  wear  a  black  cloak  of  silk  or  bomba- 
zine, which  looks  smarter.  The  men  affect  Italian  hats 
to  a  great  extent.  In  wet  weather  a  bernus  is  worn. 
This  is  a  black  cloak  of  wool,  with  a  cowl  for  the  head, 
and  keeps  the  wearer  beautifully  dry  and  warm.  This 
article  is  a  product  of  Northern  Abyssinia,  and  is  not  made 
at  Bako  or  Uba.  The  shamma  is,  however,  largely  made 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  latter  place. 

The  better  class  wear  a  sword,  often  with  silver  inlaid 
sheath,  while  an  attendant  carries  their  rifle  in  front. 
Round  the  waist  a  bandolier  of  cartridges  is  always  worn, 


A  MOUNTAINOUS  COUNTRY  261 

and  sometimes  a  revolver  or  pistol.  Some  of  the  older 
men  still  have  the  old  Abyssinian  shield,  carefully  done 
up  in  a  cloth  bag,  carried  by  one  of  their  attendants. 

It  is  beneath  anybody  of  any  consequence  to  walk  on  foot 
for  even  a  few  yards,  and  to  cover  the  shortest  distances  a 
mule  is  saddled.  From  my  camp  at  Bako  I  could  see  every- 
one who  ascended  or  descended  the  mountain,  and  never 
did  I  see  anyone  dismount  to  lead  his  mule  up.  Even 
after  coming  in  from  the  longest  journey  they  expected 
their  mules  to  carry  them  up  the  steep  ascent. 

Owing  to  the  hilly  nature  of  the  country,  a  mule  is 
always  used  to  ride,  while  a  horse  is  supposed  to  be  only 
an  animal  of  war.  Some  of  the  trappings  of  different 
coloured  morocco  leather  look  very  nice  when  new.  The 
stirrups  are  small,  and  only  intended  to  take  the  big-toe, 
as  the  Abyssinian  always  goes  about  barefooted. 

In  a  precipitous  and  mountainous  country  like  Abys- 
sinia this  is  a  great  advantage,  and  the  Abyssinian,  so 
ready  to  accept  most  things  European,  shows  his  sense 
in  avoiding  boots  and  European  clothing.  The  usual 
native  is  only  too  anxious  to  learn  how  to  wear  boots,  with 
the  result  that  he  suffers  great  discomfort,  and  grows 
heavy-footed  in  place  of  being  active.  To  accustom 
native  troops  to  wear  boots  is  a  great  mistake,  as  it  lessens 
their  marching  powers  and  reduces  their  mobility.  The 
most  that  should  ever  be  allowed  them  is  a  pair  of  sandals, 
to  be  worn  attached  to  the  waist,  and  only  put  on  in 
thorn  or  other  very  bad  country. 

After  a  long  delay  at  Bako,  finally  my  loads  were 
brought  in,  some  by  my  own  porters,  and  others  by  some 
of  the  Bako  natives,  accompanied  by  Basha  Gabri.  To 
the  latter  I  made  a  present,  and  the  old  humbug  kissed 
my  hand,  and  said  that  he  was  my  servant,  and  would  do 


262     A  MOUNTAINOUS  COUNTRY 


anything  for  me.  Of  the  camels,  some  had  died  under 
Kurre,  and  others  after  making  the  ascent,  and  the  few 
that  remained  were  too  sick  to  proceed,  so  I  gave  them  to 
some  Abyssinians. 

I  had  brought  with  me  some  Marie-Therese  dollars,* 
for  use  in  travelling  through  Abyssinia.  These  were 
brand-new,  and  I  thought  would  be  appreciated  more 
than  old  ones.  However,  the  natives  of  this  part  looked 
on  them  with  suspicion,  as  they  were  not  old  and  dirty, 
like  those  they  were  accustomed  to,  and  so  would  not 
accept  them.  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  be  able  to  dis- 
pose of  a  lot  of  my  trade  goods  to  some  merchants,  and 
so  was  able  to  reduce  my  loads,  and  obtain  money  for 
the  journey.  Other  things  I  discarded,  but  I  still  had 
too  many  loads  for  my  own  porters  to  carry. 

The  Fitorari  promised  me  some  porters,  but  I  had  to 
wait  several  days  before  they  appeared.  Finally,  they 
turned  up,  and  the  Fitorari  came  to  say  good-bye.  I  paid 
a  last  call  on  the  Jima  youth,  and  took  him,  amongst 
other  things,  a  Swahili  cloth  for  his  wife,  at  which  she 
was  delighted,  as  they  are  Muhammadan. 

He  was  one  of  the  few  natives  I  have  met  who  have 
any  sense  of  gratitude,  for  during  my  stay  I  mended  his 
rifle  for  him.  Instead  of  taking  it  away  directly  I  had 
finished,  and  saying  no  more  about  it,  he  repeatedly 
thanked  me,  and  said  many  times  afterwards  how  glad 
he  was  to  have  it  whole  again.  Finally,  he  accompanied 
me,  on  the  first  day  of  my  journey,  to  Uba,  and  there  said 
good-bye. 

*  This  dollar,  struck  from  an  old  die,  used  to  be  the  universally 
accepted  coin  of  Abyssinia  and  Arabia.  Now  Menelek  strikes  his  own 
dollars,  but  many  of  the  country  folk  still  prefer  the  Marie  Therese. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


UBA 

The  Basha's  wife  had  been  to  call  on  me  again  the  day 
before  I  left,  and  made  me  promise  to  come  and  say  good- 
bye on  my  way.  So  when  the  men  had  all  started,  I 
rode  over  to  their  house,  which  was  not  far  out  of  the 
way.  The  old  lady  had  made  me  up  some  little  stores 
of  flour  and  bread  and  red  pepper  for  the  journey. 

The  bread  she  put  in  a  flat,  round,  leather-covered 
basket,  such  as  almost  every  Abyssinian  fastens  to  his 
saddle  when  he  goes  on  a  journey.  This  and  several 
other  instances  of  kindness  convinced  me  that  many  of 
the  Abyssinians  are  at  heart  exceptionally  nice  people, 
although  their  usual  grasping  demands  and  exasperating 
habits  of  procrastination  are  apt  to  make  one  overlook  this. 

Our  way  led  first  of  all  along  fairly  level  country, 
between  Bako  Mountain  on  one  side  and  several  large 
hills  on  the  other.  Scattered  about  on  the  tops  and 
sides  of  the  hills  were  a  few  villages  and  groves  of  what 
appeared  to  be  bananas.  These  are  in  reality  the  wild 
banana,  cultivated  for  the  sake  of  its  roots.  Out  of  these 
the  natives  make  a  kind  of  bread.  I  have  never  seen  this 
eaten  in  any  other  place,  although,  growing  wild,  it  is 
common  over  most  of  tropical  Africa.  From  Kurre  and 
Bako  onwards  this  forms  the  staple  food  of  the  people, 
especially  just  before  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  rains, 

263 


264 


UBA 


Presently  we  came  to  the  edge  of  Bako  Plateau — a 
great  drop  of  two  or  three  thousand  feet.  The  sides  of 
the  hills  were,  as  elsewhere  in  the  Bako  Mountains,  ex- 
ceptionally steep,  although  clothed  in  grass.  This  latter 
circumstance  would  make  their  ascent  more  difficult,  as 
there  is  no  foothold  on  the  grassy,  precipitous  sides. 
Down  this  a  rough  mule-track,  cut  in  the  face  of  the  hills, 
wound  along  the  sides  of  spurs  and  ridges,  till  it  reached 
the  valley  below,  bounded  on  all  sides  by  precipitous 
hills. 

We  camped  at  the  foot  of  the  hills,  and  I  gave  the 
porters  who  had  been  sent  by  the  Fitorari  each  a  present, 
in  the  hopes  that  they  would  stop  with  us  ;  but  they  all 
went  off,  saying  that  they  had  only  been  told  to  come 
one  day. 

Omari  had  been  very  trying  all  day.  Kitabu  had  been 
doing  the  work  of  headman  lately,  as  Omari  had  been 
behind  with  the  camels.  This  was  the  first  time  I  had 
had  the  porters  without  Omari,  and  it  was  most  pleasant, 
as  there  were  no  squabbles  and  refusals  to  do  the  ordinary 
duties  of  camp,  but  they  were  all  most  exemplary  in 
their  behaviour. 

Omari  attempted  to  resume  his  duties  as  headman  by 
counting  the  loads  at  Bako,  and  solemnly  came  to  me  and 
reported  that  there  were  sixteen  less  than  there  actually 
were.  As  I  had  counted  them  myself,  I  knew  how  many 
there  were,  and  suggested  that  he  should  try  again  for 
practice,  as  a  headman  who  could  not  tell  one  how  many 
loads  there  were  was  fairly  useless. 

When  he  came  in  to  camp,  I  asked  him  how  many  Bako 
porters  had  come  with  him,  as  he  started  with  a  little 
party  after  we  had  left.  He  said  :  "  Four  ;  but  one  is 
carrying  the  load  of  the  other  one  who  left,  and  the  other 


UBA 


265 


man  who  wasn't  carrying  a  load  joined  us,  and  took  the 
load  of  the  other  man  whom  I  called  on  the  way,  but  he 
is  not  here." 

Then  I  asked  :  "  How  many  men  did  you  come  into 
camp  with  ?"  He  replied  :  "I  am  telling  you,  bwana. 
The  other  man  who  didn't  come,"  etc.,  etc.  After  about 
ten  minutes  of  this,  I  called  Sadi,  and  said  to  him  : 
"  Perhaps  I  have  forgotten  Swahili  since  I  have  been 
learning  the  language  of  the  Wahabashi.  Make  Omari 
say  slowly  to  you  what  he  has  just  said  to  me,  and  see  if 
you  understand.  If  you  don't  understand,  ask  him  how 
many  Bako  natives  he  came  in  to  camp  with,  and,  when 
you  have  heard,  come  and  tell  me.  I  am  going  into  my 
tent  to  rest  my  brain." 

Presently  Sadi  came  and  said  :  "I  can't  understand 
what  he  means,  but  we  can  count  all  the  natives  in  the 
camp,  and  find  out  like  that." 

Omari  is  not  a  great  mathematician.  One  day,  when 
we  had  all  our  tanks  full  of  water,  and  also  the  water  of 
a  lot  of  hans  brought  in  by  the  Rendile,  we  were  just 
about  to  start  on  a  march.  As  we  had  no  receptacle  in 
which  to  put  the  water  of  the  hans,  and  had  to  return 
them  to  the  Rendile,  it  was  necessary  to  give  out  all  they 
contained  before  starting.  This  seemed  a  pity,  as  there 
was  rather  more  water  than  we  wanted  for  the  moment. 
I  gave  the  order  to  the  men  to  fill  all  their  water-bottles 
from  the  hans,  and  also  to  take  so  many  for  each  camp. 
Omari,  however,  had  a  brilliant  suggestion. 

He  said  that  if  I  gave  out  the  water  from  the  tanks  to 
the  men,  I  would  then  get  the  space  in  the  tanks  in  which 
to  pour  the  water  of  the  hans,  and  so  we  should  be  able  to 
take  more  with  us.  I  replied  that,  whatever  we  did,  we 
could  only  take  each  tank  full  of  water,  and  they  were  all 


266 


UBA 


full  now.    Omari  said  that  I  did  not  understand.  I 

agreed  with  him,  and  gave  out  all  the  water  the  men 
wanted  from  the  hans,  but  at  the  end  there  were  several 
hans  full,  which  we  did  not  know  what  to  do  with,  as  every- 
one had  filled  his  water-bottle  and  drunk  all  he  wanted. 

Omari  said  :  "  Now  you  see  what  my  plan  was.  If 
the  men  had  filled  their  water-bottles  and  drunk  from  the 
water  of  the  tanks,  we  would  then  have  been  able  to  pour 
all  the  water  of  the  hans  into  the  tanks,  and  have  none 
left.    Now  it  is  wasted." 

After  we  had  finally  settled  the  problem  of  the  Bako 
natives,  and  all  the  porters  were  cooking  food,  I  noticed 
that  the  agitated  Omari  had  forgotten  his  rifle,  and  left 
it  standing  up  against  a  tree  some  way  from  any  of  my 
porters'  camps,  but  near  where  the  Bako  natives  were 
squatting.  I  was  very  much  annoyed  at  this,  as  it  might 
have  easily  been  stolen,  and  I  had  given  orders  that  the 
men  were  never  to  let  their  rifles  out  of  their  sight,  and 
to  sleep  on  them  at  night. 

I  was  on  the  point  of  calling  Omari,  when  I  thought 
that  I  would  teach  him  a  more  practical  lesson  instead, 
so  I  fetched  the  rifle,  and  put  it  in  my  tent.  Nothing 
more  happened  till  the  porters  began  to  go  to  bed,  and 
then  I  heard  Omari's  voice  asking  if  anybody  had  seen 
his  rifle.  After  a  search  for  it,  he  went  off  to  bed  himself, 
without  attempting  to  report  his  loss. 

This  is  a  most  annoying  trait  of  natives.  They  seldom 
come  and  say,  "  I  have  lost  this,"  or  "  I  have  broken 
that."  They  wait  for  you  to  find  it  out  for  yourself, 
and  then  they  say  :  "  Oh,  that  !  that  was  lost  long  ago." 

I  always  tell  them  that  it  is  much  better  to  come  and 
tell  me  at  once,  and  then  I  may  be  a  little  cross,  or  I  may 
not  ;  but  I  am  sure  to  be  angry  when  I  am  not  told. 


UBA 


267 


With  the  ammunition  given  out  there  was  constantly 
a  round  being  lost  here  and  there.  If  the  man  came  and 
told  me  at  once,  I  did  not  say  anything  about  it,  but  if, 
at  an  inspection,  I  found  that  anyone  had  neglected  to  do 
this,  I  used  to  charge  him  for  the  value  of  the  lost  round. 

Next  morning  an  Abyssinian  living  near  came  to  see  me, 
and  promised  to  try  to  get  me  some  more  porters  to  take 
the  place  of  the  Bako  who  had  stopped  to  cook  the  food 
I  gave  them,  and  then  gone  off.  However,  he  only 
managed  to  secure  five  men. 

I  called  out  to  Omari  to  bring  his  rifle,  as  the  Abys- 
sinian wanted  to  see  what  it  was  like,  and  he  pretended 
not  to  hear.  I  then  told  Sadi  to  call  him.  When  he  came 
and  I  asked  for  the  rifle,  he  said  he  would  go  and  fetch 
it.    He  did  not  come  back,  thinking  that  I  should  forget. 

Finally,  Sadi  spoilt  the  joke,  as  he  called  him  again,  and 
then  exploded  with  laughter.  Omari  then  said  that  he 
had  had  his  rifle  a  moment  before,  but  now  it  had  gone, 
and  he  thought  that  Sadi  or  someone  must  have  taken  it. 

Most  of  the  loads  that  had  been  brought  by  the  Bako 
were  now  stranded,  so  I  decided  to  leave  Omari  and  a  few 
men  with  them,  and  go  on  and  try  to  get  help  from  Uba. 

We  marched  on  two  days  up  this  valley.  The  five 
Bako  men,  after  receiving  a  good  gorge  the  first  night, 
and  a  promise  of  a  big  reward,  said  that  they  would 
come  on  to  Uba  with  me.  However,  our  marches  were 
too  long  for  them,  and  the  second  day  they  left  their 
loads  and  went  off. 

Near  our  camp,  on  the  top  of  a  little  hill,  lived  two 
Senegalese,  who  had  been  brought  here  by  a  Russian 
expedition.  They  came  down  to  see  me,  took  my  spare 
loads,  and  put  them  in  their  house,  and  then  rode  on  to 
Uba  to  make  arrangements  for  me.    One  of  them,  a 


268 


UBA 


Barrambaras,  spoke  a  little  French,  and  was  a  most 
pleasant  man.    His  name  was  Osman. 

The  word  Barrambaras  means  a  commander,  something 
above  the  rank  of  Basha.  In  an  old  book  on  Abyssinia 
the  first  Abyssinian  met  by  the  author  on  arrival  at  the 
frontier  happened  to  be  a  Barrambaras,  and  he  translates 
this  word  as  "  guardian  of  the  frontier."  It  is  rather 
comic  to  see  this  mistake  occur  in  several  other  books  on 
Abyssinia,  as  it  shows  that  the  authors  copy  from  the 
writings  of  others.  When  I  asked  if  they  only  lived  on 
the  frontier,  I  was  told  that  there  were  many  in  every  big 
station,  and  that  the  road  up  to  Addis  Ababa  was  thick 
with  them. 

On  proceeding  from  here,  we  came  to  the  villages  of  the 
Uba.  We  met  a  man  carrying  two  gourds  of  milk — one 
fresh  and  the  other  sour.  I  arranged  for  the  purchase  of 
the  fresh  gourd,  Kassim  acting  as  interpreter,  as  he  knew 
the  language  well,  from  having  a  Wallamu  wife. 

After  we  had  arranged  the  purchase,  Kassim  harangued 
the  native,  and  then  turned  to  me  and  said  in  Arabic 
that  the  man  wished  to  give  the  other  gourd  to  my  ser- 
vants. As  the  man  had  said  nothing,  I  knew  that 
Kassim  was  "  trying  it  on,"  so  I  said  :  "  Did  the  man  say 
that,  or  did  you  say  that  ?" 

Kassim  looked  rather  foolish,  and  Sadi,  who  under- 
stood Arabic,  frequently  got  a  rise  out  of  him  afterwards 
by  saying,  "  So-and-so  wants  to  give  you  all  his  wealth, 
Kassim,"  or  "  Here  is  someone  else  trying  to  give  you 
milk." 

The  Uba  are  a  subsection  of  the  Wallamu,  and  talk 
practically  the  same  language.  One  of  the  most  curious 
things  about  them  is  their  variation  in  colour.  They  are 
either  very  dark  or  very  fair,  either  blackish-brown  or 


UBA 


269 


very  pale  cafe-au-lait  coloured  ;  but  few  are  seen  who  are 
intermediate  between  these  two  colorations. 

Tribes  differ  enormously  in  colour,  and  amongst  indi- 
viduals there  is  generally  considerable  variation  ;  but 
then  the  majority  of  the  tribe  are  a  mean  between  the 
two  extremes.  With  the  Uba  and  Wallamu,  however, 
there  may  be  two  children  by  the  same  father  and  mother, 
and  whilst  one  is  as  dark  as  a  Masai,  the  other  is  as  pale  as 
a  town  Arab  or  Egyptian,  who  has  never  been  in  the  sun. 

We  climbed  up  the  foot-hills  of  Uba  Mountain,  and 
there  we  met  the  Barrambaras  and  some  men  sent  by  the 
Dejazmach  to  attend  to  me.  The  last  few  miles  of  our 
way  had  led  us  through  a  big  village  of  the  Uba,  and  then 
on  to  a  high  shelf  below  Uba  Mountain. 

The  village  was  peculiar  in  that  it  was  divided  up  by 
roads  into  rectangular  enclosures  bordered  by  hedges 
and  low  stone  walls.  Stockades  and  hedges  are  often 
made  among  African  tribes  for  purposes  of  defence,  but 
it  is  most  rare  to  see  them  used  as  boundaries  for  prop- 
erty. In  fact,  the  only  place  where  I  have  noticed  this  in 
uncivilized  Africa  is  in  Uganda. 

Another  thing  that  struck  me  as  peculiar  during  the 
day's  march  was  the  sight  of  some  roughly-made  ploughs. 
I  had  thus  seen  in  the  course  of  two  days  the  most  primi- 
tive agricultural  implements  I  had  ever  come  across — those 
of  the  Bako — and  the  most  civilized  yet  seen  in  Africa. 

The  Barrambaras  and  some  of  the  Dejaz's  men  sat  with 
me  till  ten  o'clock  at  night,  although  I  made  several 
attempts  to  get  rid  of  them.  Meanwhile,  their  attendants 
were  shouting  from  hill-top  to  hill-top,  and  exhorting  the 
natives  to  bring  in  supplies.  They  refused  to  budge 
till  all  the  supplies  came  in,  saying  that  if  they  did  not 
turn  up  all  right  the  Dejaz  would  be  very  angry.    At  last 


270 


UBA 


all  the  food  was  collected  by  contributions  from  different 
villages,  and  a  sheep,  some  chickens,  milk,  and  various 
red-coloured  breads,  were  brought  in,  and  they  returned 
to  the  amba  of  Uba. 

Next  day  a  stiff  climb  of  about  three  miles  brought  me 
to  a  level  plateau  on  the  top  of  the  mountain,  on  which 
were  situated  several  villages  of  Abyssinians,  and  on  the 
summit  of  one  flat-topped  rise  was  the  house  and  pre- 
cincts of  the  Dejaz. 

Near  the  top  of  the  ascent  a  group  of  mounted  Abys- 
sinians with  a  hundred  or  more  soldiers  were  ready  to 
meet  me,  and  I  thought  that  it  must  be  the  Dejaz.  They 
dismounted  and  came  forward,  and  I  was  told  by  the 
Barrambaras  Osman  that  they  were  only  a  few  Bashas 
and  Barrambaras. 

The  first  thing  I  noticed  on  breasting  the  summit  was 
an  enormous  white  tent,  which  many  men  had  just 
finished  pitching,  and  it  was  to  gain  time  to  get  this  ready 
for  me  that  I  had  been  made  to  camp  under  the  amba 
the  night  before. 

I  was  ushered  into  this,  where  two  chairs  and  a  table 
had  been  placed  ready,  and  a  caraffe  of  very  clear  and 
excellent  tej*  was  brought.  I  was  also  told  that  a  house 
near  had  been  placed  at  my  disposal. 

A  genial,  fat,  bald-headed  merchant  from  Ankoba  did 
the  honours,  and  I  found  out  afterwards  that  he  had 
turned  out  of  the  house,  and  was  living  in  a  small  tent 
with  his  whole  family,  so  as  to  let  me  have  it. 

It  was  now  Easter,  which  is  observed  as  a  big  feast 
by  the  Abyssinians,  and  everybody  was  very  cheery  on 
tej  and  araking — the  latter  a  sort  of  gin.  In  the  after- 
noon a  horn  was  blown  from  the  Dejaz 's  quarters,  and 
*  Hydromel  or  honey-wine. 


UBA 


271 


presently  we  could  see  soldiers  and  mules  collecting  from 
every  direction.  After  about  two  hours  of  preparation, 
several  hundred  men,  mounted  and  on  foot,  were  seen 
approaching  our  camp. 

The  bigger  the  man,  the  greater  retinue  he  moves 
about  with,  and  even  a  Basha  will  often  collect  about  half 
a  hundred  followers  before  he  moves  from  home.  I  used 
to  be  the  object  of  great  sympathy  to  everyone  I  met 
in  the  road  when  I  was  seen  to  be  walking  alone,  or  with 
one  attendant,  in  my  very  battered  and  ragged  clothes, 
torn  by  the  thorn  of  the  Elges  and  the  low  country.  Even 
strangers  on  the  road  would  stop  me  and  say  that  it  was  not 
fitting  for  me  to  be  seen  alone.  When  I  climbed  a  steep 
hill  on  foot  with  a  horse  led  behind  me,  and  some  of  my 
sick  men  on  mules,  their  astonishment  was  unbounded, 
and  they  certainly  thought  that  I  must  be  mad. 

The  Dejaz  brought  with  him  an  interpreter  called 
Kalkai,  who  could  speak  French  well.  He  was  very 
interested  to  hear  by  what  route  I  had  arrived  in  the 
country,  and  asked  me  many  questions  about  the  low 
country.  He  only  stopped  a  short  time,  and  then  left. 
Presently  Kalkai  came  back,  and  said  that  the  Dejaz 
had  sent  him  to  talk  to  me,  as  he  saw  that  I  was  alone, 
and  had  no  one  who  could  talk  my  language.  He  also 
begged  me  to  ask  for  anything  I  wanted. 

Barrambaras  Osman  and  the  Dejaz  both  expressed 
themselves  most  anxious  to  get  me  the  loads  left  behind 
as  quickly  as  possible,  and  I  am  sure  that,  according  to 
their  lights,  they  did  their  best. 

However,  interminable  delay  is  inseparable  from 
Abyssinian  methods,  and  so  I  had  to  wait  at  Uba  a  long 
time  for  my  loads,  and  also  to  make  arrangements  to 
proceed.    To  one  thing  I  made  up  my  mind,  and  that 


272 


UBA 


was  that  when  I  could  proceed  I  would  take  no  more  than 
my  own  people  could  carry,  however  many  things  it  meant 
abandoning,  as  I  was  anxious  to  be  absolutely  independent 
again  of  help  from  the  Abyssinians. 

Nevertheless,  during  my  enforced  stay  at  Uba  I  spent 
a  very  pleasant  time.  The  Dejaz's  amanuensis  and 
several  others  were  only  too  eager  to  help  me  learn  the 
language,  while  even  the  Dejaz  himself  used  to  teach  me 
words,  and  he  also  lent  me  an  Amharic  Bible  to  read. 

The  first  night  at  Uba  I  somewhat  rashly  decided  to 
take  up  my  quarters  in  the  house,  as  the  mountain-top 
was  chilly,  and  there  was  generally  a  thick  mist.  The 
idea  of  sitting  snug  and  warm  over  a  fire  in  the  well- 
built  little  hut  appealed  to  me.  I  had  not  been  there 
very  long,  however,  before  I  began  to  feel  a  tickling  about 
the  legs,  and  then  an  itching,  so  I  made  a  hurried  exit, 
and  transferred  my  quarters  to  the  tent.  This  was  very 
spacious,  and  entirely  home-made  from  ordinary  Ameri- 
kani  calico. 

I  did  not  want  to  hurt  the  feelings  of  the  owner  of  the 
house,  and  so  I  sent  word  to  him  that  I  had  no  idea  that 
he  had  turned  out  of  it  on  my  account,  and  insisted  that 
he  should  return  at  once.  Had  I  told  him  that 
there  were  any  other  inhabitants  in  it  besides  himself 
and  his  family,  he  would  probably  have  thought  that 
I  was  romancing. 

The  Dejaz  sent  me  a  present  of  an  ox  and  different  kinds 
of  food,  and  also,  to  my  surprise,  some  excellent  tinned 
provisions  that  were  very  acceptable,  as  I  had  had  to 
throw  away  most  of  my  stores. 

I  must  say  a  word  now  about  the  politeness  of  the 
Abyssinians,  a  fact  which  impressed  me  very  much, 
and  for  which  I  was  not  prepared  amongst  a  compara- 


UBA 


273 


tively  speaking  uncivilized  people.  There  is  no  nation 
I  have  ever  met,  not  even  the  French,  who  can  be  com- 
pared with  the  Abyssinians  in  this  respect.  Many  of 
them  are  exorbitant  in  their  demands  and  dilatory  in  their 
methods,  but  they  are  so  courteous  in  their  exactions 
and  procrastinations  that  it  is  difficult  to  take  offence. 

The  "  small  boy  "  is  the  rudest  product  of  civilization, 
and  one  can  easily  imagine  how  an  Abyssinian  walking 
about  in  his  native  dress  in  London  or  Paris  would  be 
the  victim  of  all  sorts  of  gibes  and  jeers  from  the  street 
urchins.  He  would,  indeed,  be  lucky  if  he  had  only 
these  to  put  up  with,  and  was  not  bombarded  by  stones, 
cabbages,  mud,  or  anything  else  that  came  handy.  To 
compare  Abyssinia  with  another  self-governing,  semi- 
civilized  race,  a  European  in  Arabia  would  be  followed 
about  by  a  crowd  of  small  boys,  who  would  surround  his 
camp,  and  sing  vulgar  verses  about  him.  Yet  I  was  able 
to  walk  through  the  whole  length  of  Abyssinia  in  a 
costume  which,  in  my  own  country,  even,  would  have 
caused  some  comment,  and  I  have  never  heard  a  single 
rude  thing  said  about  me  by  any  Abyssinian  small  boy. 
On  the  contrary,  every  child  greets  a  stranger  and  his 
own  elders  in  a  courteous  and  respectful  manner,  which 
might  well  be  imitated  by  their  white  brethren. 

As  regards  their  form  of  address,  they  perhaps  carry 
politeness  and  punctiliousness  to  too  great  an  extreme. 
One  sees  two  men  meeting  each  other,  and  apparently 
holding  a  long  conversation,  and  then  each  proceeds  on 
his  way.  In  reality  they  have  said  nothing  but  the 
equivalent  of  "  How  do  you  do  ?"  but  something  after 
this  manner  : 

"  Is  your  afternoon  good  ?" 

"  Yes,  thank  God.    And  is  yours,  my  brother  ?" 

18 


274 


UBA 


"  Yes,  thank  God.  And  have  you  spent  the  fore- 
noon well  1" 

"  Yes,  thank  God,  I  have  spent  the  forenoon  well. 
And  you,  have  you  also  spent  the  forenoon  well  ?" 

"  Yes,  thank  God  ;  and  have  you  passed  the  night 
well  ?" 

"  Yes,  thank  God  ;  and  have  you  V9 

"  Yes,  thank  God  ;  and  have  you  safely  arrived  here  V9 

"  Yes,  thank  God." 

"  And  have  you  had  a  good  journey  ?" 
"  Yes,  thank  God.    And  you,  have  you  spent  the  time 
well  since  our  last  interview  ?" 

"  Yes,  thank  God,  I  have  ;  and  have  you  also  ?" 

"  Yes,  thank  God  ;  and  are  you  in  good  health  ?" 

"  Yes,  thank  God.    And  are  you  also  well  ?" 

"  Yes,  thank  God." 

"  May  you  have  a  safe  road." 

"  Thank  God.  Good-bye." 

"  Good-bye." 

"  Amen." 

The  day  after  the  Dejaz  had  been  to  see  me  I  went 
up  to  visit  him.  He  received  me  in  a  large  barn-shaped 
building,  one  end  of  which  was  screened  off  by  a  large 
curtain  forming  a  little  reception-room,  whilst  the  rest 
was  open  to  his  attendants  and  hangers-on. 

He  said  that  he  had  been  told  how  I  had  lost  my  dog, 
and  how  I  had  fired  at  the  crocodile.  This  latter  seemed 
to  have  produced  a  great  effect  on  my  Abyssinian  guide 
from  Karo  to  Kurre,  as  I  was  constantly  being  asked 
about  it.  Those  living  in  these  parts  had  never  seen  or 
heard  of  a  repeating  pistol,  and  so  thought  it  a  most 
wonderful  performance  to  fire  so  quickly.  He  asked 
me  if  the  dog  had  been  a  very  valuable  one,  and  I  said  : 


The  Dejaz's  Present 

This  is  the  horse  given  me  by  Dejaz  Biru.  I  fitted  the  native  saddle  with  my  own  stirrups,  so 
as  to  be  able  to  ride  off  on  him  when  he  was  given  me.  The  Abyssinian  stirrups  are  made  to  take 
the  big  toe  only.  The  man  holding  him  is  an  Abyssinian  soldier  in  characteristic  dress,  with  a 
"shamma"  over  his  shoulders. 


UBA 


275 


No,  it  was  not  that,  but  it  was  that  I  had  lost  my  only 
companion. 

For  long  after  Narok's  tragic  end  I  used  to  wake  up  at 
night  and  listen  for  her  pushing  in  under  my  tent-flies. 
She  used  to  have  the  most  friendly  way  of  always  rubbing 
her  nose  against  my  hand  to  tell  me  that  she  had  come 
in,  before  lying  down.  I  would  wonder  where  she  was, 
and  then  would  suddenly  remember  her  as  I  had  last  seen 
her.  Then  I  would  think  that,  if  I  had  run  faster  or 
started  sooner,  I  might  have  saved  her. 

The  Dejaz  said  :  "You  must  let  me  give  you  another 
companion,  as  I  have  a  puppy  here  of  a  European  breed." 
It  would  have  been  of  no  use  to  carry  a  small  puppy  with 
me,  and,  anyhow,  I  had  only  a  few  weeks'  trek  before 
me  to  the  coast,  so  I  declined  his  offer,  thanking  him  very 
much  for  what  was  a  very  kindly  thought. 

He  then  took  me  round  his  houses,  and  showed  me 
his  dogs  and  a  baby  giraffe,  which  ran  towards  us  and 
fed  out  of  the  hand.  A  horse  was  then  brought  out, 
and  the  Dejaz  said  he  was  going  to  give  it  to  me  when  I 
left,  but  that,  as  I  had  nowhere  in  my  camp  to  put  it, 
he  would  keep  it  till  then  in  his  stables. 

Another  day  the  Dejaz  came  down  to  see  me  in  the 
evening,  and  talked  for  a  bit.  It  then  began  to  thunder, 
and  he  looked  out  at  the  black  clouds  gathering,  and 
said  he  had  hoped  to  stop  to  dinner  with  me,  but  he  did 
not  want  to  be  caught  by  the  rain.  I  immediately  sent 
out  to  tell  my  cook  to  get  ready  some  food,  and  told  Sadi 
to  do  the  best  he  could  ;  but  it  appeared  that  the  Dejaz 
had  brought  his  own  dinner  with  him,  as  his  attendants 
rushed  in  and  produced  a  rice  stew  and  some  bread,  and 
we  made  a  hurried  repast,  the  Dejaz  asking  for  news  of 
the  rain  between  every  two  mouthfuls. 

18—2 


276 


UBA 


The  day  after  he  asked  me  up  to  lunch,  and  gave  me 
a  really  excellent  meal.  He  entertained  me  in  a  circular 
hut  behind  his  audience-room.  On  the  floor  were 
strewn  freshly-cut,  green  rushes  by  way  of  a  carpet. 

Barrambaras  Osman  sent  me  a  letter  in  Amharic  to 
tell  me  that  my  loads  had  arrived  at  his  house,  and  would 
shortly  be  forwarded.  The  Abyssinian  letter  is  a  slip 
of  paper  with  close,  but  regular,  writing.  Every  man  of 
importance  has  a  large  seal  or  die.  on  which  his  name 
is  written.  This  is  inked  over  and  stamped  at  the  foot 
of  the  letter  close  under  the  writing.  They  are  very 
economical  about  paper,  and  when  the  letter  is  finished 
any  paper  that  is  not  written  on  is  carefully  torn  off, 
and  the  letter  is  then  carefully  folded  up  into  a  pellet, 
and  sent  to  its  destination. 

The  writing  is  generally  a  laborious  proceeding  re- 
quiring great  mental  strain  and  frequent  wipings  of  the 
pen  on  the  hair,  which  forms  a  handy  and  serviceable 
pen-wiper,  and,  moreover,  being  black,  does  not  show  the 
ink-stains. 

At  length  Abdi  and  the  last  of  the  loads  arrived  at  Uba, 
but  they  brought  the  news  that  Yusufu.  who  had  been 
one  of  the  men  left  with  Abdi.  had  suddenly  been  taken 
ill  with  colic.  He  had  been  taken  into  the  house  of  an 
Abyssinian,  who  had  treated  him  with  every  kindness, 
but  after  two  days  of  illness,  the  poor  little  fellow 
started  away  on  his  last  great  trek,  and  was  buried  by 
Abdi  and  Tumbo.  He  was  one  of  the  most  cheerful  and 
willing  of  my  men. 

The  cold  and  wet  of  the  highlands  was  very  trying  to 
the  men  after  the  great  heat  of  the  plains  below,  and 
during  the  whole  of  the  journey  to  Addis  Ababa  there 
was  always  one  or  two  of  them  ill. 


UBA 


277 


I  was  fortunate  enough  to  be  able  to  buy  several  mules 
at  Uba,  which  would  serve  to  carry  food  for  the  men.  I 
then  went  carefully  through  my  loads  of  trade  goods,  and 
threw  away  all  the  things  unlikely  to  be  of  any  further  use 
— all  my  beads,  half  my  medicines,  half  my  axes,  my  water- 
tanks,  and  various  other  things.  At  last  only  sufficient 
things  remained  to  be  carried  by  my  men,  and  we  were 
once  more,  to  my  delight,  absolutely  independent  of  help 
from  the  Abyssinians. 

The  Dejaz  presented  me  not  only  with  the  horse,  but 
also  a  mule  to  ride  myself.  On  leaving,  I  was  very  much 
exercised  in  my  mind  as  to  what  I  should  give  him  as  a 
souvenir  of  all  his  kindness  and  generosity.  Such  usual 
presents  as  maradufu,  a  rifle  and  ammunition,  I  gave 
him,  but  of  all  such  things  he  had  plenty,  and,  moreover, 
being  very  well  off,  could  get  as  much  as  he  liked  from 
Addis  Ababa. 

He  had  consulted  me  frequently  concerning  his  ailments, 
but  of  medicines  he  had  sufficient  to  stock  a  chemist's 
shop,  although  he  did  not  know  which  to  use.  What  was 
I  to  give  him,  then,  besides  the  ordinary  commonplace 
presents  given  by  every  traveller  in  Abyssinia  ?  At  last 
an  idea  struck  me  :  I  had  the  skin  of  the  lion  shot  at  Horr. 
This  is  an  article  highly  prized  by  Abyssinians,  whereas 
I  had  plenty  at  home,  and,  moreover,  this  one  was  hardly 
likely  to  survive  a  journey  through  Abyssinia  in  the  wet 
season  without  getting  spoilt. 

So  I  sent  Abdi  up  with  the  skin,  and  the  Dejaz  appeared 
very  gratified  that  I  should  give  him  such  a  present. 

Amongst  my  loads  was  the  massive  head  of  the  buffalo, 
which  was  a  man's  load — about  sixty  pounds.  I  had  often 
thought  that  I  ought  to  discard  this,  but  I  could  not  bring 
myself  to  part  with  it,  and  so  I  discarded  any  food-stores 


278 


UBA 


still  left  to  me,  which  were  few,  and  only  kept  tea,  salt, 
and  pepper,  sufficient  to  take  me  to  Addis  Ababa,  and  a 
few  of  the  tins  given  me  by  the  Dejaz,  whilst  the  remainder 
I  consumed  or  gave  away  to  the  men. 

Abdi  had  picked  up  two  Somali  pals  on  the  way. 
They  were  living  with  Barrambaras  Osman,  and  they  and 
he  both  came  into  Uba  the  night  before  I  left.  Osman 
sold  me  a  mule,  which  was  afterwards  always  known  as 
Barrambaras,  and  proved  to  be  a  most  exceptional 
animal  for  a  mule.  He  was  always  sweet-tempered  and 
friendly,  and  had  many  other  peculiar  qualities. 

Abdi's  Somali  pals  came  to  see  me,  and  one  of  them 
said  that  he  had  been  with  Abdul  Hassan,  the  Somaliland 
Mullah,  during  the  first  stages  of  his  career.  He  said  he 
had  been  present  at  the  attack  of  the  Mullah's  forces  on 
the  Abyssinian  post  of  Jigjiga. 

I  asked  him  whether  they  still  believed  in  the  Mullah's 
statement  that  hostile  bullets  would  turn  to  water.  He 
said  that  this  was  quite  true  at  first,  or,  at  any  rate,  their 
enemies'  rifles  would  not  fire  when  they  first  attacked 
Jigjiga.  The  Mullah  told  them  not  to  give  the  alarm  by 
firing  their  rifles,  but  to  enter  in  silence.  They  entered 
the  fort,  and  got  amongst  the  huts,  and  not  a  single 
Abyssinian  was  able  to  fire  his  rifle  till  the  spell  was 
broken  by  an  Arab,  a  British  subject,  who  fired  off  his 
rifle,  and  then  all  the  Abyssinians  were  able  to  fire,  and 
drove  them  out  of  the  fort  with  great  loss. 

Soon  after  this  he  got  tired  of  Abdul  Hassan,  and  ran 
away  from  him,  taking  with  him  one  rifle  and  four  horses 
belonging  to  the  prophet. 

Abdi  was  very  full  of  his  Somali  pals,  and  what  fine 
people  the  Somalis  were  at  first,  but  he  got  very  bored 
with  them  after  a  short  while.    He  said  that  he  was  a 


UBA 


279 


Somali,  and  had  met  other  Somalis  in  a  strange  country, 
and  so  it  behoved  him  to  make  them  a  present.  So  he 
gave  them  several  dollars  each,  but  instead  of  thanking 
him  for  his  very  generous  action,  they  said  :  "  Now  you 
must  get  some  calico  for  us,  and  if  you  cannot  get  some 
calico,  you  must  give  us  another  dollar  each." 

Abdi  came  to  me  and  said  :  "  I  don't  know  what  the 
people  of  this  county  take  us  for.  I  have  never  met  their 
like  for  asking  for  presents.  I  think  that  they  must 
imagine  that  we  have  passed  through  a  country  where  we 
have  been  picking  up  money  from  the  ground,  and  now 
want  to  get  rid  of  it." 

Finally,  all  arrangements  were  completed  ;  food  for 
the  men  had  been  partly  purchased  and  partly  presented 
to  me  by  the  Dejaz,  and  we  once  more  took  the  road. 

My  men  now  presented  the  most  comic  appearance,  as 
I  had  bought  them  all  shammas,  to  replace  their  torn  and 
worn  blankets.  These,  and  trousers  made  of  calico, 
which  I  had  given  them,  surmounted  by  head-dresses  of 
zebra's  mane  and  battered  fezes,  and  the  lusty  way  they 
swung  along  with  their  loads,  caused  everyone  in  the 
road  to  stop  and  stare  at  these  quaint  objects. 

I  rode  up  to  the  Dejaz,  and  sat  with  him  for  half  an 
hour  or  so,  and  then  he  mounted  his  mule,  and,  with  a 
large  retinue,  accompanied  me  for  part  of  the  way. 

The  road  wound  along  the  top  of  a  razor-edged  spur, 
and  so  we  had  to  ride  in  single  file.  After  proceeding 
about  a  mile,  I  begged  him  not  to  come  any  farther.  So 
he  shook  hands,  and,  after  thanking  him  again  for  his 
many  kindnesses,  I  rode  off  after  my  men,  who  had  pre- 
ceded me,  while  the  Dejaz  stood  and  waved  his  hat,  and 
then  turned  round,  and,  accompanied  by  his  retinue, 
returned  to  Uba. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


CROSSING  THE  MOLSHA 

Kassim  had  gone  home  from  Uba.  I  was  sorry  to  lose 
his  services,  but  I  now  knew  enough  of  the  language  to 
be  able  to  get  on  fairly  well  with  an  Abyssinian  guide. 
The  Dejaz's  amanuensis  accompanied  us  during  the  first 
day  out  from  Uba,  and  led  us  along  a  ridge  leading  north- 
east. We  only  went  on  a  few  miles,  and  then  camped  on 
the  top  of  a  narrow  neck  of  this  thin,  razor-edged  range, 
with  a  precipitous  drop  on  either  hand. 

A  Barrambaras  lived  close  by  our  camp,  and  he  had 
been  deputed  by  the  Dejaz  to  get  provisions  for  us.  He 
came  and  sat  in  my  tent  till  a  late  hour  at  night,  while 
the  usual  shouting  from  hill-tops  took  place,  and,  finally, 
a  quantity  of  food  was  brought.  Although  we  had  not 
come  far,  it  was  a  great  thing  to  have  made  a  start,  and 
still  more  satisfactory  to  feel  that  we  were  perfectly 
independent  again. 

The  Dejaz's  writer  had  aMannlicher  rifle,  and  was  very 
anxious  for  me  to  sell  him  all  my  ammunition.  I  gave 
him  a  little,  and  said  I  could  not  spare  any  more,  as  I 
wanted  it  for  myself.  He  continued  to  importune  me, 
saying  that  I  could  not  possibly  want  any  ammunition 
on  the  way  to  Addis  Ababa,  and  when  I  arrived  there,  I 
could  buy  as  much  as  I  liked  at  ten  for  a  dollar.  To  this 
I  replied  that  I  did  not  want  Addis  Ababa  ammunition, 

280 


CROSSING  THE  MOLSHA  281 


as  it  was  sure  to  be  bad.  He  assured  me  that  it  was  of 
the  best,  and  showed  me  that  which  he  was  wearing  in 
his  bandolier. 

Wishing  to  close  the  discussion,  I  said  that  I  would 
prove  to  him  that  his  Addis  Ababa  ammunition  was  not 
so  good  as  mine.  We  would  each  take  our  rifles  and  our 
ammunition,  and  fire  at  a  mark,  and  see  whose  bullet 
went  straightest.  I  knew  that  I  should  be  easily  able  to 
defeat  him,  as  the  Abyssinians  are,  from  our  point  of  view, 
ridiculously  poor  marksmen. 

A  gourd  was  put  up  on  the  top  of  a  rock,  and  I  was  re- 
quested to  fire  first.  If  one  makes  a  clean  hit,  natives, 
seeing  no  apparent  movement  of  the  target,  are  always 
good  enough  to  say  that  one  has  missed,  and  may  even 
give  one  instructions  as  how  to  shoot  the  next  shot. 
When  the  object  is  subsequently  examined,  and  a  little 
hole  is  found  drilled  through  it,  as  likely  as  not  they 
think  it  some  fake,  especially  if  the  hole  appears  smaller 
than  the  bullet.  What  appeals  to  them  is  visible  effect 
when  a  shot  is  fired. 

Knowing  this,  I  aimed  below  the  gourd,  and  was  lucky 
enough  to  hit  the  rock  just  in  front  of  it.  The  splinters 
sent  the  gourd  flying,  and  so  scored  one  to  me. 

The  writer  next  fired.  I  was  prepared  for  a  miss  on 
his  part,  but  not  for  what  actually  occurred.  When  he 
pressed  the  trigger,  his  rifle  gave  forth  a  tired  hiss,  and 
a  subsequent  examination  proved  that  the  bullet  had  not 
sufficient  pressure  behind  it  to  cause  it  to  travel  more 
than  halfway  up  the  barrel.  We  then  adjourned  to 
camp,  and  I  had  to  extract  it  with  my  clearing-rod. 

While  at  Bako,  a  Gerezmach  (General  or  Brigadier, 
under  the  rank  of  Fitorari)  had  come  often  to  my  camp 
and  extolled  his  prowess  as  a  hunter.    It  appeared  that 


282        CROSSING  THE  MOLSHA 


it  was  beneath  him  to  shoot  just  an  elephant  or  two  at  a 
time,  for  whenever  he  met  elephants,  he  killed  from 
twenty  to  a  hundred.  I  got  so  bored  with  his  stories 
and  with  the  thought  that  he  mistook  me  for  such  a  fool 
as  to  believe  them  that  I  said  to  him  that  he  must  not 
only  be  a  wonderful  marksman,  but  most  marvellously 
rapid.  I  should  never  forgive  myself  if  I  left  without 
having  had  an  opportunity  of  observing  his  skill  with  the 
rifle. 

Abdi  took  a  spiteful  delight  in  cornering  him,  as  the 
Gerezmach  had  assumed  that  no  one  but  an  Abyssinian 
had  ever  been  able  to  tackle  dangerous  game.  Finally, 
the  old  man  was  induced  to  give  us  an  exhibition.  A 
mark  was  put  up,  and  he  scored  a  few  very  bad  wides, 
and  then  said  that  his  rifle  was  bad. 

From  our  camp  on  the  neck  the  writer  returned,  and 
the  Barrambaras  provided  us  with  two  guides  to  take  us 
to  Dalbo — one  a  tall  Arusi  Galla,  and  the  other  a  short 
native  of  Uba,  called  Dasita. 

One  of  the  least  conspicuous,  but  most  important, 
personages  of  a  caravan,  as  concerning  the  comfort  of  the 
white  man,  is  the  cook's  boy.  He  carries  the  load  of 
cooking-pots,  and  on  arrival  in  camp  finds  firewood,  and 
stones  on  which  to  rest  the  pots.  After  a  week  or  two 
of  trek  he  often  has  learnt  all  the  cook  knows — which  is 
never  very  much — and  the  latter  sometimes  assumes  airs, 
and  cannot  do  this,  that,  and  the  other,  till  at  last  the 
cook's  boy  does  everything  under  the  superintendence  of 
the  chef. 

Although  his  job  is  a  staff  billet,  and  he  thus  receives 
an  honorarium  slightly  in  excess  of  the  mere  porter,  this 
individual  is  apt,  after  a  time — often  not  without  just 
cause — to  think  that  he  is  being  put  upon.    It  is  seldom 


CROSSING  THE  MOLSHA  283 


that  a  cook  and  his  boy  go  through  a  long  trek  without 
friction,  and  more  generally  there  are  at  periods  serious 
disagreements  between  the  two. 

I  had  been  exceptionally  lucky  in  my  cook's  boy,  as 
this  office  had  been  filled  by  a  sturdy  and  good-tempered 
little  youth  called  Maguru-Kwenda  (literally  "  legs  go," 
meaning  "  best  foot  forward,"  or  "  twinkle- toes  ").  His 
name  was  no  misnomer,  as  he  was  always  in  front  of  the 
caravan,  and  the  first  to  arrive  in  camp,  so  there  was 
never  long  to  wait  for  food  after  getting  in.  He  was  a 
Kikuyu  by  birth,  but  had  lived  on  the  coast,  and  then 
taken  to  the  life  of  a  professional  porter. 

On  the  day  we  left  our  camp  on  the  neck,  everything 
was  packed  up  ready  to  go,  when  it  was  found  that 
Maguru-Kwenda  was  missing.  The  cook  told  me  that 
he  had  gone  out  at  dawn  to  look  for  some  firewood,  and 
had  not  returned. 

Men  were  sent  out  in  all  directions  to  look  for  him,  and 
I  feared  that  some  mischance  had  befallen  him.  Either 
in  the  mists  of  the  early  morning  he  had  fallen  over  one 
of  the  steep  precipices  that  abounded  on  either  side,  or 
that  he  had  had  a  fit,  and  was  lying  unconscious  some- 
where near. 

A  long  search  produced  no  result,  so  I  interrogated  the 
cook  carefully.  It  then  transpired  that  he  and  the  cook 
had  fallen  out,  and  Maguru-Kwenda  had  walked  off  in  a 
huff — a  common  trait  in  the  generally  cheerful,  but  rather 
peculiar,  disposition  of  the  Kikuyu.  I  reprimanded  the 
cook  for  not  telling  me  the  truth  at  once,  and  so  keeping 
the  whole  caravan  waiting.  As  a  punishment,  I  made  him 
carry  Maguru-Kwenda 's  load  during  that  day's  march. 

We  started  away,  and,  after  going  half  a  mile  or  so,  I 
called  Abdi  and  Tengeneza,  and  said  to  them  :  "  The 


284        CROSSING  THE  MOLSHA 


heart  of  Maguru-Kwenda  is  sore,  because  of  the  words 
of  Bakari,  and  so  he  will  sit  alone  amongst  the  rocks, 
because  of  the  badness  of  his  spirit.  When  noon  comes, 
the  pain  of  hunger  will  seize  him,  and  he  will  forget  his 
vexation,  and  come  forth.  He  will  come  to  our  camp, 
and,  when  he  finds  that  we  have  left,  he  may  go  to  some 
village.  If  the  people  there  give  him  food,  he  will  forget 
his  hunger,  and  sit  there  a  while,  till,  perhaps,  it  may  be 
too  late  to  rejoin  us.  Therefore,  you  two  go  stealthily 
back,  and  conceal  yourselves  near  our  old  camp,  and 
watch  for  his  coming." 

After  proceeding  a  short  way,  our  path  made  a  steep 
descent  to  the  valley  to  our  east.  Kalkai,  the  Dejaz's 
interpreter,  had  a  house  farther  along  the  ridge  on  which 
we  had  travelled  from  Uba.  He  had  sent  a  man  the  night 
before  with  a  present  of  honey  from  himself  and  a  loaf 
of  sugar  from  the  son  of  the  Gin  (or  Genni).  The  Genni 
is  the  Queen,  or  chief tainess,  of  Goffa.  She  was  now 
on  a  visit  to  Addis  Ababa,  and  her  son  was  stopping  with 
Kalkai. 

I  knew  that  it  was  sugar  he  sent,  because  there  was  a 
label  on  it  to  the  effect  that  it  was  sugar  especially  made 
for  the  Abyssinian  trade.  If  it  had  not  been  for  this,  I 
should  have  thought  that  it  was  a  block  of  stone. 

Both  of  them  asked  me  to  call  in  on  my  way,  so,  when 
the  path  began  to  descend,  I  left  the  caravan,  and  kept 
along  the  ridge.  First,  however,  I  selected  a  site  for 
camp  from  afar,  as  the  valley  was  laid  out  below  us,  like 
a  map.  There  was  a  horseshoe  of  thorn-trees  to  be  seen 
up  the  valley,  and,  having  ascertained  that  our  path 
passed  near,  I  chose  that  spot. 

The  Barrambaras  of  the  night  before  accompanied  us 
as  far  as  the  top  of  the  descent,  and  when  he  said  good- 


CROSSING  THE  MOLSHA  285 


bye,  he  immediately  sat  down  on  a  rock,  and  began  to 
hear  a  case  between  two  Esa  Somalis  who  were  serving 
here  with  the  Abyssinian  soldiers.  While  the  Abys- 
sinian sat  stolid  and  unmoved  on  his  improvised  throne 
of  justice,  the  two  Somalis  grew  vehement  and  excited. 

They  each  spoke  in  turn,  and  shouted,  screamed,  and 
gesticulated,  and  danced  at  each  other  in  the  most  ridicu- 
lous way.  Every  point  or  hit  the  orator  made,  or 
imagined  he  was  making,  was  accompanied  by  a  kind  of 
overhand  bowling  at  his  adversary.  The  imaginary  ball 
was  delivered  at  the  other's  head  at  the  same  time  as 
the  barbed  words  were  launched  at  him. 

I  proceeded  along  the  ridge  to  Kalkai's  house,  and  on 
the  way  met  a  pleasant-looking  youth,  who  said  that 
he  would  come  to  Dalbo  with  me  and  look  after  the  mules 
on  the  way.  He  ran  off  home  to  get  a  few  belongings  for 
the  journey,  and  I  did  not  expect  to  see  him  again,  but 
he  turned  up  all  right,  and  came  as  far  as  Addis  Ababa. 
His  name  was  Alamu,  and  he  turned  out  very  useful. 

As  I  made  my  way  by  a  rough  track  along  the  summit 
of  the  ridge,  I  could  see  the  long  range  of  Goffa  to  the 
north-west,  behind  which,  I  was  told,  flowed  the  Omo 
River.  The  district  of  Goffa,  ruled  by  the  Genni,  whose 
name  is  Wezoro  Akalesa,  is,  from  all  accounts,  a  flourish- 
ing dependency  of  Abyssinia.  A  great  quantity  of  coffee 
is  grown  there,  and  when  our  route  joined  with  the  Goffa- 
Addis  Ababa  track,  we  met  caravans  of  fifty  or  a  hundred 
mules  at  a  time  conveying  this  product  up  to  Addis 
Ababa. 

On  arrival  at  Kalkai's  house,  I  was  introduced  to  the 
Genni's  son — a  tall,  fat  youth,  to  whom  Kalkai  referred 
as  Le  Roi.  Kalkai's  house  was  a  large,  circular  hut, 
consisting  of  a  central  portion,  surrounded  by  an  outer 


286 


CROSSING  THE  MOLSHA 


wall.  Between  the  inner  and  outer  walls  were  com- 
partments used  as  store-rooms  and  stables. 

The  inside  portion  was  divided  into  two  parts  by  a 
dirty  curtain.  One  of  these  parts  was  arranged  as  a 
sitting-room,  and  skins  and  cushions  were  thrown  about 
to  sit  on,  while  the  other  half  was  for  the  cooking  and 
servants.  As  the  living-room  is  surrounded  by  stables 
for  mules,  goats,  and  cattle,  divided  from  it  only  by  an 
open-work  wall,  aroma  and  insect-life  pervade  the  inner 
room. 

Kalkai  gave  me  a  very  good  meal,  consisting  of  tej, 
tef  (a  white  bread),  and  a  splendid  sauce  of  chillies  and 
minced  meat,  followed  by  coffee.  The  thin,  large,  flat 
breads  are  piled  up  on  a  basket-work  table,  the  sauce  is 
poured  on  to  the  centre  of  the  top  bread,  and  the  party 
then  sit  round  and  feed  out  of  the  same  dish.  At  first 
I  had  considerable  difficulty  in  scooping  up  any  of  the 
mince  and  chillies  with  my  flat  pieces,  broken  off  from  the 
edges  of  the  pile  of  soft  breads. 

I  watched  my  companions  closely,  and  presently  saw 
how  it  was  done.  The  little  pieoes  of  bread  were  thrown 
on  the  top  of  the  mince-meat,  and  when  they  were 
pinched  with  the  fingers,  they  enclosed  some  of  it,  with- 
out the  fingers  having  to  come  in  contact  with  the  meat 
or  sauce. 

Abdi  and  Tengeneza  arrived  in  time  to  finish  up  the 
remains  of  the  repast,  bringing  with  them  Maguru- 
Kwenda,  looking  very  sheepish  and  ashamed  of  himself. 
Abdi  said  :  "  As  you  said,  Bwana,  so  it  came  to  pass.  We 
waited  near  our  camp,  and  about  noon  Maguru-Kwenda 
came  forth." 

He  was  so  ashamed  of  himself  that  it  was  quite  un- 
necessary to  punish  him  for  the  delay  he  had  caused  us. 


CROSSING  THE  MOLSHA  287 


He  retired  into  a  corner,  with  his  back  to  us,  to  eat  his 
food,  while  I  chaffed  him  about  his  running  away.  I 
told  him  that  I  had  been  trying  to  sell  him  as  a  slave  to 
the  Abyssinians,  but,  as  they  did  not  think  he  was  worth 
more  than  one  chicken,  I  had  decided  not  to  sell  him,  but 
to  take  him  on  with  me. 

Kalkai  said  that  we  must  not  start  too  early  next  day, 
as  they  were  coming  to  see  us  off.  We  descended  the 
hill,  and  found  our  camp  in  the  spot  I  had  chosen  at  the 
bottom  of  the  valley. 

Very  heavy  rain  fell  during  the  night  and  early  morning, 
so  we  were  glad  of  an  excuse  to  wait  till  it  cleared  up. 
When  everything  was  packed  up  ready  to  start,  Kalkai 
and  the  Genni's  son  appeared,  and  accompanied  us  a  little 
distance  on  our  way. 

The  low- valley  route  to  Dalbo  is  the  quickest  and  easiest 
in  dry  weather,  but  now  it  was  nothing  but  a  morass,  and 
it  took  us  all  the  remainder  of  the  day  to  get  about  ten 
miles.  The  road  carefully  followed  the  lowest  part  of 
the  valley,  where  the  swamp  was  up  to  our  knees  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  time.  By  the  thick  green  grass  it 
could  be  seen  that  water  was  accustomed  to  lie  here, 
whilst  a  few  hundred  yards  to  our  right  there  was  short 
grass  and  fairly  open  country.  As  there  was  but  little 
water  there  I  left  the  track,  and  went  across  country 
parallel  to  the  road. 

Our  guides,  like  many  other  natives,  were  averse  to 
following  any  other  route  except  that  which  they  had 
been  always  accustomed  to.  They  said  that  I  should  get 
lost  if  I  did  not  follow  the  road,  and  advanced  various 
other  specious  reasons  why  we  should  walk  in  the  swamp. 

Next  morning  early  we  reached  the  Molsha  River,  which 
cut  across  our  path,  and  flowed  through  a  gap  in  the  ridge 


288        CROSSING  THE  MOLSHA 


to  our  left  to  join  the  Omo.  It  was  in  full  flood,  and 
flowing  at  a  tremendous  pace.  On  both  banks  there  were 
camps  pitched  of  caravans  held  up  by  the  river.  On  our 
bank  there  was  a  large  caravan  carrying  coffee  from  Goffa, 
bound  for  Addis  Ababa. 

At  the  ford  the  water  was  only  five  feet  deep  at  the 
deepest  part,  but  it  was  impossible  to  cross  owing  to  the 
tremendous  pace  at  which  the  river  was  flowing. 

At  this  place  Maguru-Kwenda  came  out  in  quite  a  new 
light,  as  it  appeared  that  he  was  a  strong  and  powerful 
swimmer.  Few  of  the  up-country  natives  as  a  rule  are 
able  to  swim,  but  he  had  lived  on  the  coast  for  a  number 
of  years,  probably  having  been  taken  down  originally  as  a 
slave.  Majaliwa  was  also  a  good  swimmer,  and  so  we 
three  tried  different  places  in  the  river  to  endeavour  to 
find  a  better  ford. 

It  was  impossible  to  stand  up  at  all  in  the  water  except 
quite  close  to  the  bank,  where  it  was  shallow,  and  so  we  had 
to  abandon  all  hope  of  crossing  that  day.  Next  day, 
finding  the  water  had  gone  down  a  little,  I  set  out  down- 
stream, and  found  a  place  where  the  river  was  much 
broader,  and  also  flowing  in  two  channels,  a  small  and  a 
big  one,  separated  by  a  little  island.  Here  the  water  was 
not  much  higher  than  the  waist,  but  it  was  doubtful  if  we 
could  cross,  as  the  river  had  a  way  of  suddenly  sweeping  one 
off  one's  feet  and  downstream,  perhaps  into  a  deeper  part. 

However,  we  made  an  effort  to  cross,  and  succeeded  in 
reaching  the  island.  Some  of  the  men  who  had  posed  as 
braves  so  far  proved  to  be  most  hopeless  funks  in  the 
water,  and  had  to  be  pushed  and  jostled  across  by  their 
companions.  To  cross  the  big  arm  of  the  river  I  had 
prepared  poles  and  ropes,  it  being  my  intention  to  have  a 
line  of  men  supporting  themselves  against  the  current 


CROSSING  THE  MOLSHA  289 


with  poles  stuck  into  the  bottom,  and  holding  the  ropes 
to  help  those  with  the  loads. 

We  tried  several  times  to  establish  this  line,  but  each 
time  a  confused  mass  of  men,  and  ropes,  and  poles  was 
swept  down,  and  we  had  to  laboriously  cart  all  the  para- 
phernalia up  again.  Another  thing  which  added  to  the 
difficulty  was  the  branches  and  bits  of  trees  being 
carried  down  by  the  stream,  and  one  had  to  be  constantly 
on  the  look-out  to  avoid  them,  as  it  would  have  been  most 
dangerous  to  get  entangled  in  these  masses  of  branches, 
which  were  often  revolving  as  they  went.  Finally  we  had 
to  abandon  the  attempt,  and  return  crestfallen  to  camp. 

The  Goffa  caravan,  being  natives,  had  stuck  religiously 
to  the  ford  without  trying  to  look  for  another  place.  They 
had  attempted  to  get  a  few  of  their  animals  across  ;  a  horse, 
a  mule,  and  a  donkey  had  been  swept  down  some  way,  but 
eventually  had  been  dragged  out,  the  horse  unconscious. 

There  was  no  rain  during  the  next  night,  and  in  the 
morning  I  went  to  look  at  my  ford,  and  found  it  a  little 
better.  I  returned  with  glowing  accounts  of  the  ease  with 
which  I  had  crossed  and  recrossed,  and  so  all  the  men  set 
off  with  shouts  and  singing. 

The  elan  with  which  they  started  carried  all  but  a  few 
of  the  faintest-hearted  across  the  first  arm,  and  Maguru- 
Kwenda  and  two  more  of  the  boldest  spirits  actually  started 
across  the  big  part  without  waiting  for  assistance. 

I  had  intended  to  ground  all  the  loads  on  the  island, 
and  then  take  them  across  with  three  men  to  each  load, 
so  as  to  minimize  the  danger  of  loss.  However,  when  I  saw 
them  start  away  I  decided  to  risk  the  loss  of  a  load,  as,  if 
one  or  two  got  across,  it  would  show  that  it  could  be 
done,  and  give  confidence  to  the  others.  These  three 
were  soon  followed  by  Tumbo,  Kitabu,  and  a  few  others, 

19 


290        CROSSING  THE  MOLSHA 


who  rushed  into  the  water  with  shouts,  and  by  the  time 
these  had  reached  the  worst  bit  the  redoubtable  Maguru- 
Kwenda  had  already  deposited  his  load  on  a  spit  of  land 
on  the  other  side,  and  come  back  to  help  them. 

Seeing  this,  others  followed,  and  the  first  ones  returned 
to  take  the  loads  of  those  who  would  not  venture  across. 
The  sais,  although  he  could  not  swim,  seized  a  load,  and 
plunged  across  with  it,  to  show  that  a  Masai  was  as  good 
a  man  as  anyone  else.  He  had  reached  a  little  more  than 
halfway  when  he  began  to  be  carried  downstream,  and 
nearly  lost  his  load.  Fortunately  I  saw  what  was 
happening  in  time,  and,  rushing  after  him,  held  out  a 
long  bamboo,  which  enabled  him  to  steady  himself. 

In  this  way  all  the  loads  were  got  safely  across,  the  only 
mishap  being  that  one  porter,  mistaking  a  big  water-lizard 
for  a  crocodile,  dropped  his  load  in  the  water  and  fled, 
but,  being  in  shallow  water  near  the  bank,  it  was  rescued. 
Then  those  men  who  still  hung  back  were  pushed  and 
jostled  across  by  their  comrades,  and  well  chaffed,  and 
some  of  them  ducked  for  their  timid  behaviour. 

It  now  only  remained  to  get  the  animals  across,  so  they 
were  taken  well  upstream,  and  the  horse  was  then  shoved 
in,  the  sais  taking  his  head  and  Abdi  his  tail.  When  the 
current  took  him  he  allowed  himself  to  be  carried  down, 
and  then  tried  to  turn  back  to  the  bank.  I  had  posted 
myself  downstream  of  him,  and,  splashing  water  into  his 
face,  turned  him  into  mid-stream.  The  Abyssinian  mules 
followed  the  horse,  and  all  arrived  safely  on  the  tail  of 
the  spit  of  land  opposite. 

At  last  there  only  remained  our  Nairobi  mule  on  the 
far  bank,  waiting  for  someone  to  take  him,  and  as  he  was 
unaccustomed  to  water,  I  expected  some  difficulty  with 
him.    However,  he  entered  without  protest,  and  then, 


CROSSING  THE  MOLSHA  291 


shaking  his  halter  out  of  the  guide's  hand,  plunged  across 
the  river  with  so  much  vigour  that,  amidst  the  cheers 
of  the  porters,  he  made  a  point  on  the  spit  much  higher  up 
the  stream  than  any  of  the  others  had  been  able  to  reach. 

Omari  said  :  "I  see  that  out  of  all  these  animals  our 
Nairobi  mule  is  the  only  man."  The  porters  never  took 
much  interest  in  the  animals,  and  they  and  Omari  could 
never  tell  one  camel  from  another,  even  after  two  months' 
trek  with  them.  Now  they  took  no  interest  in  the  other 
mules,  but  their  hearts  had  gone  out  to  Nairobi,  who  had 
suffered  hunger  and  thirst,  heat  and  cold,  with  them. 

Omari  said  :  "  If  only  Nairobi  could  talk,  what  tales  he 
would  be  able  to  tell  these  other  Abyssinian  mules!"  I 
am  afraid  that  I  was  less  constant  in  my  affections,  as, 
having  lost  my  old  friends,  Ndume,  the  big  male  camel,  and 
Mwana,  the  little  white  one,  I  had  now  made  new  friends, 
and  amongst  the  mules  Barambarras  was  my  favourite. 

We  rested  a  little  on  the  spit,  and  then  investigated 
further.  Between  us  and  the  high  bank  was  a  broad  belt 
of  mud  and  reeds.  We  had  to  cut  our  way  through  these, 
and  then  proceeded,  going  at  times  up  to  our  knees  in  mud. 
When  we  reached  the  bank,  we  sat  down  and  washed  off 
the  thick  caked  mud. 

In  front  of  us  was  the  valley  route  to  Dalbo,  but  the 
swamps  we  had  experienced  at  the  other  side  of  the 
Molsha  decided  me  in  favour  of  the  hill  route,  so  we  turned 
off  to  the  left,  and  climbed  the  steep  side  of  Kucha 
Mountain,  a  continuation  of  the  ridge  we  had  taken  from 
Uba,  but  separated  from  it  by  a  deep  gorge  through  which 
ran  the  Molsha.  After  an  hour's  hard  climb  we  found  a 
suitable  camp  on  the  shoulder  of  the  mountain,  and  were 
glad  to  get  out  of  the  feverish  valley  into  the  fine  mountain 
air  again. 

19—2 


CHAPTER  XX 


THE  WALLAMU 

The  valley  beneath  is  uninhabited,  whereas  the  Kucha 
ridge  is  dotted  with  the  villages  of  the  Kucha,  a  people 
resembling  the  Wallamu.  As  the  ground  which  can  be 
cultivated  only  consists  of  small  patches  on  shoulders  and 
shelves  on  the  steep  face  of  the  mountain,  there  are  no  big 
villages.  As  a  rule,  only  a  few  beehive-shaped  huts  are 
clustered  together  on  such  places,  and  sometimes  the  level 
ground  available  only  suffices  for  a  single  hut. 

Round  the  huts  are  clustered  plantations  of  the  wild 
banana  and  bamboo ;  the  latter  they  grow,  as  they  utilize 
the  stems  for  building  purposes.  On  the  mountain-side 
are  little  terraces,  on  which  are  planted  a  few  crops,  and 
the  large  yam  known  to  the  Kikuyu  as  kikwa.  The 
terraces  are  built  up  with  a  stone  wall  at  the  lower  end 
to  prevent  the  soil  being  washed  off  the  surface. 

From  the  numbers  of  these  stone  walls  overgrown  with 
grass  seen  on  the  Kucha  and  Uba  Mountains,  it  would 
appear  that  in  former  times  a  much  larger  population  must 
have  inhabited  these  places. 

The  huts  are  generally  pleasantly  situated  on  little 
level  spots,  while  in  the  little  dips  there  are  often  arrow- 
root and  other  plants,  irrigated  by  miniature  channels. 

We  ascended  to  the  summit  of  the  ridge,  and  then 
followed  a  path  leading  along  the  crest.    The  track  was 

292 


THE  WALLAMU 


293 


fairly  good,  but  part  of  it  was  of  soft  bare  rock,  and  grew 
very  slippery  after  rain.  I  could  get  no  flour  for  the 
porters  here,  and  even  maize  and  millet  were  hard  to 
obtain,  except  in  very  small  quantities,  as  the  inhabitants 
were  living  chiefly  on  the  root  of  the  wild  banana. 

The  Kucha  hold  markets  in  many  different  spots  on 
different  days,  but  there  is  but  little  to  be  obtained  at 
these,  except  an  occasional  chicken  or  roll  of  butter. 

The  Kucha  ladies  dress  in  robes  of  locally-woven  cotton, 
tied  with  a  cord  round  the  waist,  and  often  kept  over  the 
shoulders  by  the  ends  being  knotted  round  the  chest. 
They  present  a  very  bulky  appearance  when  going  to  and 
from  market,  as  numbers  of  small  packages  are  carried 
by  being  slipped  in  under  their  robes  next  their  skin. 
The  blanket-like  dress  is  then  drawn  round  them,  and 
knotted  round  the  chest,  whilst  the  cord  or  cloth  fastened 
round  the  waist  prevents  them  from  slipping  down. 

I  met  a  party  of  these  ladies  coming  from  market, 
carrying  parasols  made  from  the  broad  leaves  of  the 
banana,  and  asked  if  they  had  any  butter  to  sell.  One 
of  them  immediately  undid  her  robe,  and  produced  a  little 
roll,  done  up  in  the  fibrous  bark  of  the  banana,  which  had 
melted  with  the  heat  of  her  body,  so  I  refused  to  buy  it. 

It  rained  every  night  we  were  on  trek,  and  in  the 
morning  there  were  dense  mists,  so  the  porters  and  animals 
had  a  wretched  time  on  the  slippery  roads.  Nevertheless, 
the  men  were  very  cheery  about  it,  although  they  fre- 
quently slid  and  fell. 

As  the  porters  came  into  camp,  it  could  be  seen  at  a 
glance  who  had  been  unfortunate  in  this  way,  as  their 
backs  would  be  plastered  with  red  mud. 

Gobana,  the  Negus  (King)  of  Kucha,  sent  in  to  say 
that  he  was  coming  to  see  me,  but  I  could  not  wait  for 


294 


THE  WALLAMU 


him,  so  trekked  on.  Finding  me  gone,  he  sent  after  me 
a  large  tray  containing  about  a  hundred  eggs  as  a  present. 
I  sent  back  a  present  of  a  tin-plate  and  bowl,  and  im- 
mediately ordered  an  omelet  to  be  made.  By  the  time 
two  good  eggs  had  been  found  for  this  purpose  more  than 
half  the  eggs  had  been  expended. 

The  word  Negus  is  generally  translated  by  "King,"  as 
it  is  supposed  to  mean  "  the  ruler  of  a  tribe  or  country," 
whilst  Menelek  is  called  Negus  Nagast  (the  King  of  Kings). 
When,  however,  the  "  King's  "  subjects  only  number  a 
few  thousand,  it  is  rather  a  ridiculous  word  to  use. 

After  three  days'  trek  along  Kucha  the  range  curved 
round  to  the  north,  while  we,  continuing  in  a  north- 
easterly direction,  descended  the  mountain,  and  came  to 
the  Deme  River.  It  is  here  that  Menelek's  own  military 
domain  commences,  the  provinces  we  had  already  passed 
through  being  ruled  by  various  governors  under  him. 

We  had  been  told  that  the  Deme  River  would  be 
unfordable,  but  when  we  arrived  on  the  bank  we  found 
that  the  ford  was  not  very  deep.  We  crossed  the  river, 
and  camped  on  the  far  bank,  and  almost  immediately  a 
storm  broke,  accompanied  by  heavy  rain  preluded  by  hail. 
Not  an  hour  after  the  storm  broke  the  river  had  risen 
several  feet,  and  I  felt  thankful  we  had  got  across  it 
instead  of  camping  in  a  better  site  pointed  out  to  us  on 
the  other  bank. 

In  front  of  us  the  country  rose  to  the  broken  plateau 
of  the  Wallamu,  ascended  at  a  place  called  Kella.  There 
are  no  inhabitants  in  the  low  country  near  the  Deme> 
but  directly  the  plateau  is  reached  the  country  is  thickly 
inhabited,  and  it  is  in  places  difficult  to  find  a  nice  open 
camping-ground.  There  is  a  considerable  amount  of 
country  under  cultivation,  but  we  found  the  people,  at  the 


THE  WALLAMU 


295 


time  we  passed,  mainly  subsisting  on  the  banana-root, 
as  had  been  the  case  with  everyone  we  had  met  from 
Bako  onwards. 

We  camped  close  by  some  huts  in  the  only  space  avail- 
able. A  nice  old  man  came  out,  and  brought  me  some 
milk.  He  had  a  stiff  arm  from  a  leopard-bite.  The 
animal  had  broken  into  his  hut  at  night  to  seize  a  goat, 
and  he  had  killed  it  with  a  spear.  The  people  about  here 
were  very  pleasant  indeed,  and  hospitably  inclined 
towards  strangers. 

Many  of  them  came  to  solicit  medical  advice  and 
obtain  medicines,  as  the  Abyssinians  had  done,  but  with 
this  difference  :  none  of  the  Wallamu  came  empty- 
handed,  but  each  brought  a  little  present  as  a  medical 
fee  paid  in  advance. 

The  ailments  I  had  to  treat  were  most  varied,  and  the 
patients  were  very  secret  about  them,  taking  me  aside 
and  conferring  in  whispers,  whilst  their  friends  tried  to 
hide  behind  trees  and  listen  to  the  conversation.  One 
man  brought  two  chickens  and  some  firewood,  which  he 
presented  to  me,  and  then,  taking  me  on  one  side,  said 
that  he  wanted  a  child,  but  could  not  obtain  one. 

Faith  almost  always  effects  a  cure  with  natives,  and, 
in  any  case,  I  did  not  wish  to  be  defeated  in  anything 
I  was  asked  to  do ;  so  I  gave  him  some  innocuous  medi- 
cine, and  prescribed  a  diet.  I  explained  that  all  my 
best  child-begetting  medicines  had  been  abandoned  on 
the  way,  but  that  if  he  prayed  to  Allah  fervently  enough, 
and  followed  my  instructions,  he  would  soon  become 
a  proud  father.  As  I  did  not  care  to  accept  the  presents 
for  such  pure  quackery,  I  gave  him  a  present  in  return. 
This  he  did  not  wish  to  accept,  but  when  I  insisted,  he 
went  home,  and  presently  returned  with  some  eggs. 


296 


THE  WALLAMU 


This  will  show  what  nice  hospitable  people  the  Wallamu 
are,  as  most  natives  take  everything  they  can  get,  and 
then  ask  for  more.  However,  near  their  head  villages 
and  big  markets  at  Dalbo  I  found  them  very  different. 

The  Wallamu  have  a  money  of  their  own  called 
marcho.  This  money  is  not  easily  carried  in  the  pocket, 
as  it  consists  of  long  thin  bars  of  roughly  smelted  iron 
about  two  and  a  half  feet  long,  the  last  nine  inches  or 
so  being  turned  up  at  an  angle  to  the  rest. 

About  ten  of  these  go  to  a  dollar.  The  end  turned 
up  is  generally  slightly  rounded  at  the  edges,  like  the 
rim  of  a  bicycle.  The  other  end,  or  long  handle,  is  shaped 
much  like  the  blade  of  a  spear,  being  pointed,  but  not 
sharp,  and  thicker  in  the  centre  than  at  the  edges.  The 
marcho  is  distinctly  money,  as  it  is  used  for  no  other 
purpose  but  buying  and  selling.  Men  can  be  seen  walk- 
ing to  and  from  the  markets  with  a  bundle  over  their 
shoulder,  neatly  tied  together  with  fibre. 

The  quality  of  a  marcho  must  be  apprised  before  it  is 
accepted  as  payment.  It  is  not  either  bad  or  good,  like 
money,  but  it  has  different  values  according  to  how  good 
or  bad  it  is.  This  is  ascertained  by  taking  the  end  in  one 
hand,  with  the  thumb  on  the  top,  and  flicking  it  several 
times  in  the  air.  A  marcho  is  never  accepted  before  this 
is  done  several  times  over. 

I  could  never  see  what  it  was  that  was  liked  or  disliked 
in  a  marcho.  I  thought  at  first  that  one  that  trembled 
as  it  was  flicked  was  a  good  one,  but  I  was  told  that  this 
was  no  guide,  and  that  it  was  the  weight  by  which  it  was 
judged.  However,  this  also  was  not  quite  the  case,  as 
some  manifestly  heavier  than  others  were  assessed  as 
good  and  others  bad. 

Finally,  I  made  up  my  mind  that  they  really  had  no 
means  of  telling,  and  that  they  only  pretended  that  they 


THE  WALLAMU  297 


could  apprise  the  value  so  exactly.  So  I  collected  ten 
marchos,  and  gave  them  to  a  man,  and  told  him  to  choose 
the  best  and  the  worst ;  and  when  he  had  done  this, 
I  marked  them,  and  told  him  to  put  the  rest  in  two  piles, 
the  best  together  and  the  worst  together.  He  put  five 
on  one  side  and  three  on  the  other.  I  then  mixed  them 
up  and  called  another  man  who  had  not  witnessed  the 
performance,  and  made  him  do  the  same.  To  my  surprise, 
he  selected  exactly  the  same  ones,  except  that  he  con- 
sidered one  of  the  best  five  bad  enough  to  put  with  the 
other  three. 

Near  my  camp  there  was  a  great  function  in  progress. 
A  widow  lady,  I  was  told,  had  bought  much  millet  beer, 
and  was  giving  a  dance  at  which  she  was  to  select  a 
husband  for  her  daughter.  There  was  a  band  of  drums 
and  long  horns  made  out  of  bamboo,  with  a  topi's  horn 
fixed  on  the  end.  This  is  almost  exactly  like  the  horns 
seen  in  Uganda,  except  that  the  bamboo  part  is  sur 
mounted  there  by  a  hartebeest  horn. 

The  drums  of  the  Uba  and  Wallamu  are  peculiar  for 
two  reasons  :  firstly,  there  are  two  drums  in  different 
keys  played  alternately,  and  secondly,  they  are  played 
with  sticks  or  withies.  The  drums  are  beaten  with  the 
flat  of  the  stick.  Nearly  all  the  African  natives  I  have 
met  play  their  drums  with  the  hand. 

When  I  arrived  on  the  scene,  a  crowd  of  horn-players 
levelled  their  horns  at  me,  and  advanced  playing  lustily. 
They  surrounded  me  with  a  forest  of  instruments  held 
only  a  few  feet  off  my  ears,  perhaps  thinking  that  I  had 
some  difficulty  in  hearing  the  music. 

The  hostess  herself,  who  was  rather  drunk,  was  mounted 
on  a  gaudily-trapped  mule,  and  was  led  very  slowly 
backwards  and  forwards  by  a  host  of  attendants.  She 
wore  on  her  head  what  appeared  to  be  a  sort  of  crown 


298  THE  WALLAMU 


of  silver  spikes  and  ornaments.  When  she  mounted,  a 
blanket  was  held  up  to  screen  her  from  the  public  gaze, 
till  she  had  settled  herself  in  the  saddle,  and  arranged 
her  draperies  so  as  to  conform  to  decency. 

The  Wallamu  appear  to  have  reached  a  very  advanced 
state  of  civilization  for  an  African  tribe,  until  just  lately, 
entirely  cut  off  from  the  outer  world.  Since  the  Abys- 
sinians  have  taken  their  country  they  have  been  brought 
more  or  less  into  touch  with  the  civilization  of  the  latter, 
but  they  probably  have  not  advanced — more  likely  they 
have  receded  a  little  since  that  date. 

I  will  enumerate  the  points  that  struck  me  most  about 
their  civilization.  They  are  a  big  tribe,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Uba  and  the  Kucha,  subsections  of  the 
tribe,  were  gathered  together  under  one  ruler  or  King — 
viz.,  Tona.  Their  huts  are  larger,  more  roomy,  and  better 
built  than  the  average  African  hut,  such  as  those  of  the 
Bantu.  They  possess  money  and  hold  markets  (great 
steps  in  civilization  and  commerce). 

They  grow  cotton  and  wear  cloth.  They  use  the 
plough,  of  a  very  rough  pattern  it  is  true,  but  still  a  great 
advance  on  the  hoe,  an  implement  which  is  used  over  the 
greater  part  of  the  continent.  Property  is  divided  by 
fences  and  walls. 

Amongst  the  many  tribes  I  had  visited  in  Eastern 
and  Central  Africa,  I  had  never  seen  natives  kiss  each 
other,  only  excepting  some  on  the  coast,  who  had  learnt 
this  habit  from  Arabs.  In  my  trek  northwards  these 
people,  including  the  Kucha,  were  the  first  natives 
I  saw  who  indulged  in  this  practice.  I  omit  the  Abys- 
sinians,  who  do  a  lot  of  kissing,  as  they  do  not  properly 
belong  to  the  country  to  the  south,  but  are  only  occupy- 
ing posts  there. 

This  habit,  then,  is  a  sign  of  an  advanced  civilization, 


THE  WALLAMU  299 


as  it  is  otherwise  only  indulged  in  by  Abyssinians  and 
Arabs.  Very  possibly  the  area  over  which  this  custom 
prevails  delimits  roughly  the  extent  of  country  covered 
by  an  old  civilization. 

In  many  ways  the  Walla  mu  remind  one  of  the  Baganda. 
Both  have  a  money  and  cloth  of  their  own — these  being 
cowries  and  bark  cloth  with  the  latter  people — and  both 
enclose  land,  while  I  have  pointed  out  the  similarity  in 
the  horns  used.  By  some  it  is  thought  that  the  Baganda 
have  received  an  admixture  of  blood  from  the  north, 
and  if  this  is  the  case,  this  may  account  for  the  similarity 
of  these  peoples. 

However,  in  type  of  features  the  Wallamu  are  very 
different,  as  they  are  of  regular  Hamitic  features,  and 
on  the  whole  much  fairer  than  the  Abyssinians. 

Amongst  the  Wallamu  is  seen  a  curious  kind  of  guitar 
that  is  used  by  some  Arabs  of  South  Arabia,  such  as  at 
Shahr,  and  also  by  the  Kisii  and  Kavirondo  in  British 
East  Africa.  It  is  made  of  a  wooden  drum  or  bowl, 
over  which  is  stretched  a  piece  of  cowhide.  A  triangular 
wooden  handle  is  attached  to  this,  bearing  five  or  six 
strings,  which  pass  across  a  bridge  on  the  cowhide  top. 

The  next  camp  we  made  in  the  Wallamu  country  was 
near  the  house  of  a  very  hospitable  native.  I  went 
into  his  house  to  see  how  the  banana-root  bread  was 
made.  The  root  is  a  mass  of  fibres,  bearing  little  lumps 
of  a  white  substance. 

These  are  boiled,  soaked,  and  pounded.  All  the  longest 
fibres  are  then  pulled  out,  and  the  remainder  kneaded 
into  a  lump.  This  is  then  chopped  up  fine  with  a  knife, 
so  as  to  cut  up  small  all  the  fibres  remaining,  kneaded 
again  in  the  form  of  a  muffin,  wrapped  up  in  a  banana- 
leaf,  and  thrust  into  hot  embers  to  cook,  or  on  to  an 
earthenware  plate  over  the  fire. 


300 


THE  WALLAMU 


The  hut  was  spacious  and  lofty,  but  was  not  sub- 
divided inside.  A  bar  was  put  across  one  side  of  it, 
and  behind  this  the  cows  of  the  owner  were  herded  at 
night  or  at  mi] king-time.  He  said  that  he  would  not 
allow  an  Abyssinian  in  his  house,  but  that  he  liked  the 
white  men,  and  wished  that  they  ruled  their  country. 
As  I  was  camped  beside  his  house,  he  would  have  liked 
to  have  given  me  some  big  present,  such  as  a  sheep, 
but  he  was  poor,  and  had  none,  so  would  I  accept  some 
milk  ?  He  also  housed  the  horse,  as  it  had  suffered  much 
from  the  wet  on  the  way. 

The  mules  were  miserable  at  being  tethered  without 
the  horse.  A  mule  has  a  most  extraordinary  objection 
to  ever  doing  anything  or  going  anywhere  on  its  own 
initiative.  On  a  journey  they  must  always  follow  some- 
thing, or  they  will  not  make  a  good  march.  Some  mules 
are  especially  bad  in  this  way,  and  will  not  lead  the  way, 
however  much  they  are  beaten  or  urged  on. 

A  mule  wiD,  as  a  rule,  follow  a  horse  almost  anywhere, 
and  seldom  shies  or  takes  fright.  It  has  no  fear  of 
anything  it  has  seen  another  animal  pass,  but  if  it  is  in 
front,  it  is  subject  to  fits  of  panic.  The  Abyssinians 
generally  have  a  servant  running  before  them  carrying 
their  rifle,  and  their  mules  are  trained  to  follow  such  a  one. 

When  Omari  saw  how  miserable  our  mules  were  with- 
out the  horse,  he  said  to  me  :  "  Now  I  believe  the  words 
you  told  me  that,  '  where  there  are  mules  and  one  horse, 
the  horse  becomes  their  Sultan.'  " 

Our  guides  wished  to  return  from  this  camp,  so  I 
paid  them  off.  Dasita,  the  little  Uba  man,  then  said 
that  he  would  come  on  to  Dalbo  with  us,  which  was  not 
many  miles  ahead.  My  men  had  been  out  trying  to  buy 
flour  with  marcho,  and  in  the  evening  they  brought  back 
those  that  were  left,  and  they  were  put  down  on  the 


THE  WALLAMU  301 


ground  near  to  where  Dasita  was  sitting.  Omari  picked 
them  up  again,  but  forgot  one,  which  he  left  lying  on  the 
ground.  Dasita  was  busy  sewing  his  shamma,  which 
was  torn,  but  when  he  saw  the  marcho,  he  began  sidling 
nearer  to  it.  As  one  of  these  had  disappeared  the  day 
before  in  a  mysterious  manner,  I  thought  that  he  would 
be  worth  watching,  so  I  told  Abdi,  who  was  standing  by, 
to  see  what  he  did. 

Presently  he  carelessly  let  the  end  of  his  shamma  fall 
over  the  marcho  lying  near  him.  Abdi  said  :  "  Shall 
I  take  it  away  from  him  ?"  But  I  replied  :  "  No ;  see 
what  he  will  do."  All  the  men  could  understand  the 
conversation,  but  as  Dasita  did  not  know  Swahili,  he 
was  not  aware  that  he  was  the  object  of  so  much  interest. 

Omari  thought  that  he  would  have  a  little  joke  of  his 
own,  so  called  him  to  draw  his  rations  for  the  day. 
After  a  certain  amount  of  fumbling  with  his  clothes, 
Dasita  got  up  and  fetched  his  food,  and  returned  again. 
As  he  had  not  left  the  marcho  on  the  ground,  we  knew  that 
it  must  be  somewhere  inside  his  shamma,  a  garment  well 
adapted  to  these  conjuring  tricks. 

I  asked  Abdi  what  he  would  probably  do  next,  and  he 
said  that  he  would  wait  until  he  was  alone,  and  then  go 
off  ;  so  I  told  Abdi  and  the  men  to  make  themselves  scarce 
while  I  went  into  my  tent.  Presently  I  saw  Dasita 
hurrying  towards  the  villages,  so  I  told  Abdi  to  call  him 
back.  When  he  came  I  said  :  "  Ask  him  where  that 
marcho  is." 

Dasita  swore  by  all  his  gods  that  he  knew  nothing 
about  it,  and  that  it  was  a  vile  imputation  that  he  had 
had  anything  to  do  with  its  disappearance.  So  vehement 
did  he  become  that  he  began  flinging  his  arms  about  in 
an  excitable  way,  and  the  marcho,  which  had  been  held 
under  his  arm,  began  to  slip  down  till  its  point  appeared 


302 


THE  WALLAMU 


below  his  shamma.  Unaware  of  this,  he  continued  to 
protest  with  great  verbosity,  till  about  a  foot  of  the  marcho 
came  into  view.  At  this  Abdiand  the  crowd  of  porters 
who  had  collected  could  control  themselves  no  longer, 
and  we  all  burst  out  laughing. 

Dasita  looked  down,  and  saw  the  tell-tale  marcho 
appearing  to  refute  his  protestations  of  innocence.  I 
then  said  to  him  :  "  You  know  the  penalty  for  theft 
in  this  country.    Abdi,  bring  an  axe." 

The  penalty  for  theft  in  extreme  cases  is,  amongst  the 
Abyssinians,  the  amputation  of  a  hand.  At  this  the 
unfortunate  Dasita  was  terrified,  and  dropped  the  marcho 
and  a  few  other  things  he  had  picked  up,  and  fled  away. 
Abdi  asked  if  they  should  run  after  him,  but  I  replied  : 
"No;  let  him  go." 

It  had  often  been  my  most  cherished  wish  to  catch  a 
sneak-thief  red-handed.  Now  that  my  wish  was  granted, 
the  whole  thing  was  so  comic  that  I  could  not  even  bring 
myself  to  beat  the  man. 

Some  Wallamu  who  were  present  said  that  amongst 
them  the  punishment  for  theft  was  imprisonment  in  a 
hut  for  four  months,  with  a  minimum  of  food  and  water. 
The  porters  disapproved  loudly  of  the  dishonesty  of  the 
people  of  this  country,  as  they  always  do  when  anybody 
has  been  found  out,  probably  those  who  had  lately 
pilfered  from  my  stores  being  loudest  in  disapprobation. 

Abdi  grew  reminiscent  on  the  subject  of  theft.  He 
said  that  not  long  ago  he  had  told  one  of  the  porters  to 
sew  up  one  of  the  sacks  of  beads,  and,  looking  back  over 
his  shoulder,  he  saw  him  transfer  something  to  his  pocket. 
He  said  nothing  at  the  time,  but  later  asked  the  man  to 
bring  his  own  load  of  private  belongings  to  be  inspected. 
The  man  pretended  that  he  did  not  understand,  and  fetched 
Abdi's  instead.    Abdi  then  went  himself,  and  looked  into 


THE  WALLAMU 


303 


the  man's  load,  and  found  some  beads.  As  it  was  but  a 
small  matter,  he  very  rightly  had  not  told  me,  but  made 
the  man  put  them  back. 

When  I  told  Abdi  that  I  had  suspected  Dasita  the  day 
before,  he  quoted  a  Swahili  proverb,  "  Who  has  tasted 
honey  will  always  return  to  the  honey-pot,"  which  in 
this  sense  meant,  "  Give  a  dog  sufficient  rope,  and  he  will 
hang  himself." 

Next  day  we  proceeded  on  our  way  to  Dalbo.  We  saw 
an  Abyssinian  stockaded  post  on  the  top  of  a  hill  to  our 
left,  and  then  reached  a  big  village  to  the  south  of  Dalbo 
Hill.  At  the  foot  of  this  hill  used  to  be  the  residence  of 
Tona,  the  "  King  "  of  the  Wallamu,  who  has  for  the 
last  seven  years  been  detained  by  the  Abyssinians  in 
Shoa. 

The  country  is  thickly  populated,  and  all  the  roads 
were  crowded  with  people  going  to  or  coming  from  the 
market,  as  it  was  market-day.  I  have  never  seen  such 
dense  crowds  of  natives  anywhere  in  rural  Africa,  for 
there  were  literally  streams  on  every  road  and  path. 

Seeing  all  these  people  coming  and  going,  one  would 
imagine  that  a  tremendous  amount  of  produce  was 
pouring  in  and  out  of  the  market,  but  this  was  not  the  case, 
as  the  majority  only  carried  one  or  two  littlb  packets. 
Perhaps  one  would  have  two  rolls  of  butter,  while  another 
carried  two  or  three  pieces  of  banana-root  bread.  These, 
done  up  in  copious  banana-leaves,  would  assume  the  aspect 
of  a  big  load. 

There  is  a  telephone  at  Dalbo  which  was  originally  put 
up  by  the  French,  but  is  now  in  the  hands  of  the 
Abyssinians.  I  tried  to  communicate  with  Addis  Ababa 
through  this,  but  was  not  able  to  do  so.  We  then  pro- 
ceeded, and  camped  near  the  market-place,  about  five 
miles  farther  on. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


ON  THE  ROAD  TO  ADDIS  ABABA 

In  the  market-place  was  a  seething  mass  of  humanity 
shouting  and  haranguing.  Perhaps  there  were  ten 
thousand  or  more.  Yet  amongst  all  these  I  was  barely 
able  to  get  enough  food  for  my  men  for  one  day,  as  the 
chief  article  offered  for  consumption  was  banana-root 
bread,  which  they  did  not  eat. 

Such  hundreds  of  sightseers  crowded  round  to  gaze  at 
our  camp  that  we  had  to  put  a  rope  round  as  a  barrier, 
and  post  men  with  sticks  to  keep  them  behind  it. 

Amongst  the  people  here  were  some  suffering  from  those 
terrible  leprous  diseases  known  to  the  Swahili  as  mti  and 
mkoma.  Large  villages  are  packed  closely  together  here, 
and  this  probably  conduces  to  ill-health.  The  people  also 
were  not  so  pleasant  as  those  in  the  more  rural  parts  we 
had  just  passed  through.  These  were  more  like  townsmen, 
and  compared  very  badly  with  the  simple,  hospitable 
countrymen  we  had  left  behind. 

I  was  very  anxious  to  see  the  market,  and  how  they  con- 
ducted their  business,  so  I  paid  it  a  visit  in  the  afternoon. 
I  was  not  able  to  see  it  quite  under  normal  conditions,  as 
the  whole  market,  directly  I  arrived,  left  off  buying  and 
selling  to  follow  me  round,  and  see  what  I  was  going  to 
do.  One  quarter  of  it  was  devoted  to  live-stock,  and 
oxen  were  being  slaughtered  on  the  spot,  and  the  meat 

304 


ON  THE  ROAD  TO  ADDIS  ABABA  30.5 


cut  up  and  sold.  Sheep  were  offered  for  sale,  as  were 
also  fowls. 

In  another  part  were  foreign  goods  exposed  for  sale, 
such  as  ohu  jadid  (calico),  cartridges,  looking-glasses,  and 
knives.  Close  to  these  were  the  leather-dressers,  selling 
ropes  of  tanned  hide  and  bandoliers  of  morocco  leather. 
There  were  rows  and  rows  of  people,  chiefly  women,  each 
having  only  a  few  pieces  of  bread  to  sell. 

In  one  corner  of  the  market  I  came  across  a  man 
squatting  behind  three  gourds  of  honey,  and  beside  him 
was  a  little  stick.  The  use  of  this  stick  was  to  shove 
down  into  the  honey,  and  on  withdrawal  the  intend- 
ing purchaser  can  see  by  the  honey  adhering  to  it  the 
quality  at  the  bottom. 

I  was  anxious  to  obtain  some  good  honey,  so  I  inspected 
these.  The  honey- vendor  put  his  stick  in  one  gourd, 
showed  me  the  honey  sticking  to  it,  licked  the  stick  clean 
with  his  tongue,  and  thrust  it  into  the  second  gourd, 
and  then,  having  cleaned  the  stick  again,  put  it  down 
ready  for  the  next  customer,  while  waiting  expectantly  for 
my  order.  By  the  number  of  little  holes  in  the  top  of  the 
honey  I  noticed  that  this  process  had  been  repeated  many 
times  during  the  day.    I  did  not  buy  any  of  his  honey. 

Next  morning  we  started  off  again,  but  it  was  a  very 
bad  morning.  First  of  all  I  found  that  my  gun-case, 
with  the  gun  inside,  had  been  stolen,  perhaps  when  I  and 
most  of  the  men  were  at  the  market,  and  no  one  was  watch- 
ing my  tent.  Next,  a  mule  was  very  ill,  having  a  swelling 
on  his  face  which  we  attributed  to  snake-bite.  Thirdly, 
the  paths  were  muddy  and  slippery  from  the  rain  of  last 
night,  and  it  was  still  drizzling. 

We  started  away,  squelching  through  the  mud  till  we 
came  to  a  nullah,  at  the  bottom  of  which  was  a  little 

20 


306    ON  THE  ROAD  TO  ADDIS  ABABA 


stream,  the  margin  of  which  was  deep  in  mud.  As  we 
were  picking  our  way  in  the  drizzle  down  the  steep  and 
slippery  descent  a  party  who  were  encamped  on  the  high 
bank  above  came  out,  and  made  fun  of  us  as  we  passed. 

I  am  afraid  that  I  was  in  a  shocking  bad  temper  that 
morning,  and  when  a  chorus  of  about  twenty  men  started 
shnging  abuse  at  me  I  was  bursting  with  rage.  However, 
I  said  nothing,  and  we  reached  the  morass  at  the  bottom, 
crossed  this,  and  climbed  a  steep  bank  at  the  other  side. 
Here  the  poor  mule,  who  had  been  following  the  other 
mules,  lay  down  on  the  ground,  evidently  about  to  die. 

From  where  we  were  we  could  see  that  the  party 
encamped  on  the  other  side  of  the  stream  had  returned  to 
their  tents,  as  it  was  still  raining.  I  told  the  men  to  put 
down  their  loads,  and,  choosing  ten  stalwart  men,  said 
to  them  :  "  Come  along  now.  Let  us  go  and  teach  these 
Wahabashi  a  lesson." 

We  retraced  our  steps  to  the  bottom,  and  then  crept 
round  under  cover  of  the  bank  till  we  were  opposite  the 
spot  on  which  their  tents  were  pitched.  I  did  not  wish  to 
approach  in  view  from  a  distance,  as,  being  all  armed,  they 
might  have  threatened  us  with  their  rifles  before  we 
reached  them,  in  which  case  it  would  have  been  difficult 
to  know  what  to  do. 

When  we  had  advanced  under  cover  to  within  twenty 
yards  of  the  tents,  I  said  to  the  men  :  "  Beat  them,  but  do 
not  damage  them.    Now  come  on." 

We  rushed  on  to  the  tents,  and  began  pulling  them 
down  on  top  of  their  owners.  As  they  came  out  my  men 
fell  on  them,  and  beat  them  lustily.  Others  came  out  of 
some  of  the  other  tents  when  they  heard  the  row,  and 
there  was  for  a  few  moments  a  brisk  melee. 

One  man,  whom  I  recognized  as  one  who  had  been  most 


ON  THE  ROAD  TO  ADDIS  ABABA  307 


offensive  as  we  passed  in  the  road  before,  flew  out  of  a  tent, 
and  came  cursing  and  swearing  towards  me.  I  received  him 
with  a  half -arm  in  the  short  ribs,  which  sent  him  spinning 
backwards  on  to  his  tent,  and  it  collapsed,  with  him  on 
the  top  of  it. 

Meanwhile  the  rest  were  flying  away  as  hard  as  they 
could  go,  leaving  their  camp  deserted.  Their  tents  were 
stocked  with  goods,  saddles,  bales  of  calico,  etc.,  as  they 
were  some  merchants  and  their  attendants  who  had  come 
down  for  the  market.  Fearing  that  my  men  might  take 
the  opportunity  of  purloining  some  of  their  goods,  I  called 
them  together.  Then  I  told  Abdi  to  find  out  if  the 
prostrate  figure  on  the  ground  understood  Borana. 

As  he  sat  up  spluttering  on  his  fallen  tent,  it  was 
ascertained  that  he  could.  So  I  said  to  Abdi  :  "  Tell  him 
that  they  are  poor  ignorant  savages  who  do  not  know  what 
a  white  man  is.  Now  they  see  one  for  the  first  time  they 
think  that  they  can  abuse  him.  God  has  been  very  kind 
to  them,  for  they  have  happened  to  meet  a  white  man 
renowned  for  his  good  temper.  Nevertheless,  if  they 
should  meet  with  another,  let  them  take  heed,  for  he  may  be 
a  fierce  and  violent  man  instead  of  gentle  as  I  am." 

In  justice  to  the  Abyssinians  and  other  natives  of  the 
country  I  must  say  that  we  were  always  treated  in  the 
most  courteous  manner  by  the  former,  and  generally 
hospitably  received  by  the  latter.  The  men  we  met  this 
day  were  not  Abyssinians,  but  I  am  not  sure  what  tribe 
they  belonged  to,  possibly  Garaugi  or  Galla. 

We  then  returned  to  our  loads,  and  found  the  mule  was 
just  dying,  and  shortly  afterwards  he  expired.  After 
waiting  a  little,  we  proceeded  once  more.  Whilst  halting 
we  were  overtaken  by  a  party  of  Abyssinians,  and  in  their 
midst  was  Dasita,  our  erstwhile  guide,  being  taken  as  a 

20—2 


308    ON  THE  ROAD  TO  ADDIS  ABABA 


prisoner.  We  were  told  that  he  was  a  deserter  from  the 
army  of  Queen  Taitu,  and  that  he  had  been  recognized 
and  caught  near  Dalbo,  and  was  now  being  taken  up  to 
Addis  Ababa. 

Alamu,  the  boy  I  had  engaged  to  look  after  the  mules 
after  leaving  Uba,  said  that  it  was  an  act  of  Providence. 
He  had  stolen  from  me  after  I  had  treated  him  well,  and 
now,  although  I  had  let  him  off,  he  was  punished  for  his 
offence. 

That  night  we  camped  in  a  belt  of  junipers  which  we 
had  seen  from  afar,  and  here  found  plenty  of  firewood — a 
thing  that  had  been  scarce  in  Wallamu. 

We  were  now  just  outside  the  Wallamu  country,  and 
in  a  district  called  Badachu,  the  people  of  which  are  much 
the  same  as  the  Kambatta,  and  these  latter  are  a  sort  of 
mixture  of  the  Garaugi  and  Wallamu. 

The  Garaugi  men  wear  much  the  same  dress  as  the 
Abyssinians,  but  the  women  dress  in  ox-skins  like  the 
Masai,  and  have  much  the  same  barbaric  brass  ornaments 
pendant  on  each  shoulder.  With  them,  however,  the 
brass  is  attached  to  locks  of  plaited  hair,  while  with  the 
Masai  it  is  attached  to  the  enlarged  ear-lobe.  So  great 
was  the  resemblance  that  when  a  Garaugi  woman  passed 
carrying  firewood,  she  was  received  with  cheers  from  the 
porters,  who  said  :  "  Here  comes  a  Masai  Jcoko  "  (matron). 

Chickens  were  cheaper  here  than  in  any  place  I  have 
yet  visited,  being  six  for  a  marcho,  or  sixty  for  a  dollar 
(two  sellings). 

Natives'  ideas  of  natural  history  are  often  rather 
quaint.  While  here  we  saw  a  party  of  slave-raiding  ants 
returning  from  a  foray  on  a  termite  nest,  each  one  carrying 
one  in  its  mandibles.  Tengeneza's  idea  was  that  the 
slave-raiders  could  not  breed,  but  used  to  take  young 


A  Garauge  Stonehexge 

I  could  obtain  no  explanation  of  these  stones  from  the  natives.    Evidently  they  are  very  old, 
and  used  at  one  time  to  form  a  circle. 


A  Garauge  Umbrella 

This  photograph  depicts  a  Garauge  lady,  followed  by  her  servant,  crossing  a  stream.  The 
umbrella  is  made  of  banana  leaves,  fastened  on  to  a  wicker-work  frame. 


ON  THE  ROAD  TO  ADDIS  ABABA  309 


white  ants,  and  bring  them  back  to  their  nests,  and  there 
transform  them  into  other  ants  by  smearing  them  over 
with  mud. 

The  next  few  days  were  without  incident.  The 
country  was  very  broken,  and  the  constant  rain  made 
the  roads  and  especially  the  ascents  and  descents  very 
slippery,  and  bad  for  the  men. 

Poor  old  Nairobi  had  been  carrying  either  a  load  or  a 
sick  man  all  the  way,  but  now  he  was  at  last  able  to  have 
a  rest,  and  go  without  anything  on  his  back. 

When  I  announced  that  Nairobi  was  at  liberty  to 
follow  the  other  mules  unloaded,  Omari  said  :  "  All  the  men 
will  be  glad  to  hear  about  our  mule,  for  their  hearts  are 
sore  every  day  when  they  see  him  going  with  a  load.  Had 
he  been  a  slave,  he  would  by  now  have  gained  his  freedom." 
When  Nairobi  was  seen  trotting  along  by  himself  after 
the  others,  or  running  off  to  graze,  and  then  galloping 
after  the  caravan,  all  the  porters  shouted  :  "  There 
goes  the  manly  one.    He  is  a  man,  and  no  mistake." 

He  was  wonderfully  tough  and  hardy,  and  after  a  few 
days  of  liberty,  he  got  so  wild  and  above  himself  that  I 
had  to  give  him  a  load  again  for  a  few  days.  The 
Dejaz's  mule,  which  I  rode,  was  what  Tengeneza  called 
"  A  perfect  professor  of  kicking."  He  was  not  so  big  as 
Nairobi,  but  very  strong,  and  very  free  with  his  hind- 
legs.  He  would  carry  me  down  the  steepest  and  most 
slippery  paths,  and  refuse  to  stop  to  let  me  get  off,  so 
long  as  there  was  anything  in  front  to  follow. 

Sometimes,  going  down  some  precipitous  and  slippery, 
rocky  path,  I  would  think  that  he  must  fall  on  his  nose 
with  my  weight.  He  would  slide  and  slither  down, 
always  keeping  his  balance,  and  sometimes  in  the  middle 
of  a  slide  he  would  suddenly  pull  up,  in  a  seemingly  im- 


310    ON  THE  ROAD  TO  ADDIS  ABABA 


possible  place,  and  let  out  with  his  hind-legs,  just  to  keep 
himself  in  practice  for  kicking,  and  then  proceed  in  the 
most  ordinary  way. 

The  Swahilis  have  a  proverb,  "  Do  not  show  kindness 
to  a  dog,  for  it  is  not  sensible  of  kindness  ;"  and  this 
applies  exactly  to  the  ordinary  mule.  It  is  no  good  trying 
to  make  a  pet  of  this  very  useful  but  cross-grained 
brute,  excepting  such  a  one  as  Barrambaras,  for  they 
are  always  uncertain.  I  used  to  give  them  salt  at 
intervals,  and  they  used  to  bite  and  kick  me  for  my  pains. 

Barrambaras,  however,  was  the  most  exceptional  mule, 
as  he  never  gave  us  a  day's  trouble,  and  was  always  sweet- 
tempered.  He  never  bit,  and  one  could  hold  his  tail,  and 
let  him  pull  one  about  without  any  fear  of  a  kick.  He 
used  to  poke  his  nose  into  my  tent  to  get  some  salt  or  a 
piece  of  bread,  and  was  most  sociable  with  human  beings. 
With  the  other  mules  he  was  different,  as  he  did  not  want 
their  company. 

This  was  one  of  the  points  I  liked  best  about  him,  as  it 
showed  that  he  alone  amongst  all  the  mules  had  any 
independence  of  character.  He  always  used  to  go  off 
grazing  by  himself,  and  if  the  others  followed  him  he 
would  leave  them,  and  go  elsewhere.  He  never  gave  any 
trouble  when  it  was  time  to  tether  the  animals  at  night, 
or  load  them  in  the  morning,  as  he  always  came  quietly 
and  never  tried  to  run  away  or  throw  his  load. 

After  passing  through  the  country  of  Kambatta,  we 
came  to  Lemmo — an  Abyssinian  station  on  the  top  of  a 
flat-topped  hill. 

Shortly  after  our  arrival,  it  began  to  pour  with  rain,  as 
usual,  and  as  there  were  many  empty  huts  about,  many 
of  the  inhabitants  having  gone  off  to  a  new  station,  I  asked 
some  of  the  men  who  visited  camp  if  I  could  use  some  of 


ON  THE  ROAD  TO  ADDIS  ABABA  311 


them  for  the  horse  and  mules.  They  said,  "  Yes,"  and 
pointed  to  several  standing  near  camp. 

Just  then  a  violent  rainstorm  started,  and  the  visitors  to 
camp  fled  back  to  their  stockaded  enclosure.  As  they  had 
said  that  we  could  use  the  empty  huts,  I  told  Abdi  to  put 
the  horse  and  the  mules  in  the  one  standing  nearest  to  us. 

Presently  the  sais  came  rushing  to  me,  and  said  that 
an  old  man  had  come  in  with  a  stick  and  turned  out  all 
the  animals,  saying  that  the  hut  belonged  to  him.  He 
did  not  use  the  hut  himself,  but  he  would  not  let  us  use 
it.  The  reason  he  gave  for  this  was  that  he  had  come  up 
to  our  camp  and  been  turned  away. 

Since  my  gun  had  been  stolen  I  had  been  very  chary 
about  letting  people  come  into  camp,  as  a  great  crowd  of 
spectators  always  collected,  and  so  I  posted  men  to  keep 
them  away. 

This  old  man,  who  was  lame,  having  been  turned  away 
by  one  of  my  men,  was  quite  within  his  rights  to  refuse 
to  let  our  animals  come  into  his  house.  As  I  told  the 
sais,  his  argument  would  be  that  he  had  come  up  only  to 
look  at  our  camp,  and  been  turned  away,  and  now  we 
wanted  to  use  his  house,  so  he  turned  us  away. 

I  sent  the  sais  for  Abdi,  telling  him  to  bring  the  old 
man  to  me,  that  I  might  try  to  pacify  him.  A  little  later, 
Abdi  came  and  said  that  it  was  all  right  now.  The  old 
man  had  turned  himself  and  the  sais  and  all  the  animals 
out  to  establish  his  right  to  the  house.  After  that  he 
had  himself  driven  them  all  in  again,  and  gone  off  and 
fetched  barley  and  hay  for  them,  and  fed  them  with  his 
own  hands. 

This  little  episode  brought  home  to  me  how  easy  it  is 
to  misunderstand  the  natives  of  a  country  through  which 
one  passes,  especially  if  one's  men  and  interpreters  do 


312    ON  THE  ROAD  TO  ADDIS  ABABA 


not  tell  one  everything.  Had  I  not  heard  that  this  old 
man  had  been  driven  away  from  our  camp,  and  that  he 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  men  who  told  us  we  could  use 
the  hut,  I  should  have  gone  away  with  a  very  bad  opinion 
of  him. 

As  it  was,  I  realized  that  he  had  behaved  very  well  to 
us,  as  he  had  pointed  out  in  his  own  way  that  he  had  a 
grievance  against  us,  but  that  he  would  not  only  overlook 
it,  but  would  heap  coals  of  fire  on  our  heads. 

Next  day  I  thanked  him  very  much  for  his  kindness, 
and  apologized  for  the  behaviour  of  my  men  in  driving  him 
away  from  camp.  The  misunderstanding  having  been 
cleared  up,  we  parted  the  best  of  friends,  whereas  I  might 
easily  have  carried  away  a  very  wrong  impression  of  his 
behaviour,  and  left  a  bad  impression  of  myself  behind. 

I  went  up  to  see  the  stockaded  Abyssinian  post,  which 
was  half-empty,  as  they  have  commenced  a  new  military 
post  to  take  its  place,  called  "  Abata's  new  encamp- 
ment " — Abata  being  the  Dejazmach  of  this  district. 
The  people  that  remain  are  only  natives  or  settlers,  and 
are  under  a  Shum,  or  civil  chief. 

The  Shum  came  to  greet  me,  apologizing  that  he  had 
not  been  to  see  me,  as  the  weather  was  bad,  and  he  was 
an  old  man.  I  was  ushered  into  a  hut,  where  there  were 
several  people,  whilst  others  came  in.  Presently  the 
Shum  drove  everyone  outside,  whilst  he  and  another  held 
up  a  shamma  in  front  of  me  as  a  screen,  and  he  then  pro- 
duced from  under  his  cloak  a  gourd  of  milk.  These  pre- 
cautions were  to  prevent  being  bewitched  or  poisoned  by 
the  milk. 

Abyssinians  believe  that  strangers  are  able  to  cause 
them  illness  by  looking  at  them  eating  Also,  meat  which 
has  been  exposed  to  the  public  gaze  is  supposed  to  be  a 


ON  THE  ROAD  TO  ADDIS  ABABA  313 


very  dangerous  thing  to  eat  No  Abyssinian  of  any 
standing  will  eat  such  meat  or  feed  in  public. 

When  I  had  finished  drinking  the  milk,  the  others  were 
allowed  to  come  back.  The  Shum  himself  could  not 
write,  but  there  was  another  man  present  who  could, 
and  he  went  through  the  vocabularies  I  had  made  out 
on  my  journey,  and  suggested  new  words  to  write  down. 

Several  of  them  sat  close  against  me  in  the  most 
friendly  way,  and  said  :  "  Has  he  got  such  and  such  a 
word  ?    Write  it  down  for  him." 

One  of  them  said  :  "Has  he  got  kuncha  down  ?"  I 
replied  :  "No.  What  is  kuncha  ?"  "  Oh,  write  it  down 
for  him  ;  he  ought  to  have  kuncha.  Show  him  what  kuncha 
is."  My  instructor  forthwith  opened  a  fold  of  his  shamma, 
and  out  hopped  about  twenty  fleas.  He  casually  re- 
marked : ' '  These  are  kuncha .  I  will  write  it  down  for  you . ' ' 

At  this  I  said  I  was  afraid  I  must  be  going,  to  which 
they  replied  :  "  You  have  not  got  kimal  yet.  Let  me 
write  that  for  you.  Show  him  a  kimal"  All  those 
present  began  hunting  in  their  clothes,  and  a  very  brief 
search  sufficed  to  produce  a  few  brace  of  kimal — an 
insect  I  trust  my  reader  has  not  yet  been  introduced  to. 

At  this  I  bid  a  hurried  farewell,  and  departed.  A 
subsequent  examination  of  my  clothes  afforded  me 
further  opportunities  of  studying  the  natural  history  of 
the  kuncha  and  the  kimal. 

Naked  savages  do  not  go  in  for  such  luxuries  as  these, 
and  for  this  reason  I  think  that  natives  should  be  dis- 
couraged from  wearing  clothes  as  much  as  possible, 
instead  of,  as  is  the  case  now,  being  taught  that  it  is  the 
proper  thing  to  do.  The  great  majority  of  the  inland 
tribes  never  wash,  and  if  they  wear  clothes,  they  never 
take  them  off,  night  or  day,  till  they  drop  off.    Yet  there 


314    ON  THE  ROAD  TO  ADDIS  ABABA 


are  many  white  men  who  think  that  a  state  of  more  or 
less  cleanly  nudity  is  horrible  and  unnatural. 

After  leaving  Wallamu,  where  both  sexes  are  dressed 
in  cotton  clothes,  we  had  come  to  a  zone,  reaching  from 
there  almost  to  Addis  Ababa,  in  which  all  the  women 
wear  skins  like  the  tribes  to  the  south,  such  as  Masai  and 
Samburr.  These  tribes  are  different  subsections  of  the 
Kambatta,  Garaugi,  and  Galla.  Their  men-folk,  how- 
ever, copy  the  Abyssinian  dress,  but  I  imagine  that  not 
so  very  long  ago  the  males  were  nude,  or  semi-nude,  like 
those  of  the  southern  tribes. 

I  think  that  their  present  dress  must  have  been  adopted 
but  recently,  or  else  the  women  would  also  wear  the  same 
kind  of  dress.  Some  of  the  women  of  Lemmo  and  the 
countries  between  here  and  the  River  Hawash  were  re- 
markably good-looking.  Their  hair  was  not  shaved  after 
the  unsightly  manner  of  the  Masai  or  Kikuyu,  but  grew 
luxuriantly,  and  was  well  combed.  African  women 
have,  as  a  rule,  but  poor  hair,  but  these  had  long  and  fine 
hair,  like  Arab  women.  Their  features  were  good,  and 
their  figures  slim  and  well  made. 

From  the  top  of  Lemmo  the  lake  to  our  left  could  be 
seen — Zwai  or  Dambal.  We  descended  from  Lemmo, 
and  in  two  days  came  to  a  well-cultivated  low  country, 
called  Urbarag.  The  descent  to  this  was  steep,  and  cut 
deep  with  old  cattle-tracks,  showing  that  at  one  time 
these  people  must  have  had  much  cattle,  whereas  now 
they  have  but  few. 

The  horse  had  been  sickening  for  some  time.  He  had 
never  been  of  much  use,  except  as  a  guide  for  the  mules 
to  follow,  and  he  had  suffered  from  the  cold  and  damp. 
It  was  useless  to  take  him  on,  so  I  gave  him  to  a  native  I 
met  here. 


ON  THE  ROAD  TO  ADDIS  ABABA  315 

At  Urbarag  we  camped  by  the  church,  and  directly  we 
arrived,  the  women  turned  up  with  food  and  firewood  to 
sell,  which  saved  a  lot  of  trouble,  as  we  had  generally  to 
send  parties  round  to  purchase  these  necessaries.  M&rcho 
were  now  no  longer  used,  and  we  bought  things  with 
Abyssinian  money. 

However,  the  people  are  very  peculiar  about  this,  as  in 
one  place  they  would  only  take  half-dollars  ;  in  another 
they  would  reject  half-dollars,  and  only  accept  quarters. 
The  change  for  a  dollar  also  differed  in  every  place  we 
came  to.  At  one  we  might  get  twelve  mahallah  for  a 
dollar,  while  at  others  only  eight.  Sometimes  it  would 
be  three-quarters  and  a  mahallak  for  a  dollar. 

Next  morning,  while  we  were  packing  up  to  leave 
Urbarag,  a  crowd  of  people  came  to  pick  up  any  scraps 
or  remains  of  firewood  or  other  things  we  might  leave 
behind.  One  youth  was  observed  unostentatiously  to 
leave  the  rest,  and  start  strolling  away. 

When  my  attention  was  called  to  this,  I  thought  that 
he  must  have  some  very  good  reason  for  abandoning  the 
chance  of  picking  up  some  of  our  leavings,  so  I  sent  a  man 
after  him,  to  see  if  he  had  helped  himself  to  anything. 
Under  his  shamma  was  discovered  a  chicken  belonging  to 
one  of  the  porters,  which  he  had  stolen,  so  I  had  him 
brought  back  and  beaten. 

From  Urbarag  we  marched  to  a  place  called  Warabe, 
and  camped  here  in  a  pleasant  situation  on  the  high  bank 
of  a  stream,  but  protected  from  the  wind  by  a  wall  of 
rock  behind  us.  One  of  the  porters  was  taken  very  ill 
on  the  way  here,  and  so  we  had  to  wait  several  days 
nursing  him.  He  very  nearly  died,  but  was  pulled  round 
with  my  last  drops  of  brandy,  and  after  a  few  days  he 
was  well  enough  to  be  put  on  the  mule,  and  we  were  able 
once  more  to  take  the  road. 


CHAPTER  XXII 


WE  EEACH  ADDIS  ABABA 

While  we  were  encamped  at  Warabe,  the  Governor  of 
the  Siddamu  Province  passed  us,  returning  home  from 
Addis  Ababa. 

His  name  is  Nagradras  Gashautanna.  He  was  accom- 
panied by  a  tremendous  retinue — perhaps  five  hundred 
or  a  thousand  armed  men,  quite  a  hundred  of  whom  were 
mounted. 

The  trappings  of  the  mules,  most  of  them  brand-new, 
adorned  with  morocco  leather  and  brass  ornaments, 
looked  very  gorgeous  from  a  little  distance.  Like  all 
barbaric  ornaments,  however,  they  do  not  bear  very  close 
examination,  for  then  they  look  cheap  and  tawdry. 

A  long  line  of  baggage-mules  followed  the  caravan, 
carrying  his  belongings,  which  chiefly  consisted  of  cheap 
tin-trunks,  as  sold  by  Indian  traders,  and  old  packing- 
cases  stuffed  with  odds  and  ends  done  up  in  filthy  rags. 

Our  caravan  was  here  augmented  by  another  Somali, 
also  called  Abdi,  who  had  been  down  into  the  Borana 
country,  and  also  by  a  man  who  offered  to  hire  his  donkey 
to  us  as  far  as  Addis  Ababa. 

As  we  had  lost  a  mule  and  a  horse,  and  there  were 
always  one  or  two  sick  porters  to  mount  on  mules,  I  was 
very  glad  to  get  this  additional  animal.  Very  useful  it 
proved,  too.  It  was  but  a  small  donkey,  but  it  carried  a  full 

316 


WE  REACH  ADDIS  ABABA 


317 


mule's  load,  and  as  often  as  not  led  the  way.  Our  mules 
were  rather  played  out  by  now  with  the  muddy  and  hilly 
roads,  and  so  I  was  glad  to  be  able  to  reduce  their  loads. 

Everybody  we  met  always  evinced  great  curiosity 
about  my  men,  and  wondered  where  they  had  come  from. 
It  was  useless  to  say  that  they  were  Wanyamwezi,  or 
came  from  East  Africa,  as  they  had  never  heard  of  either, 
so  I  always  used  to  say  that  we  came  from  the  country 
of  Zanzibar — a  place  some  of  them  knew  by  name. 

This  was  really  quite  correct,  as  the  greater  part  of  East 
Africa  used  at  one  time  to  belong  to  Zanzibar,  and  the 
Zinj  of  the  ancients,  from  which  the  latter  name  (pro- 
nounced "  Zingibar  "  by  the  Arabs)  is  derived,  included 
East  Africa. 

One  Abyssinian  asked  me  if  I  knew  a  certain  Abys- 
sinian who  had  gone  to  the  country  of  Zanzibar,  and  was 
now  a  man  of  very  great  importance  there.  I  replied 
that  it  was  a  very  big  place,  and  I  did  not  know  everyone 
that  lived  there.  To  this  he  said  :  "  But  you  must  know 
this  man,  for  he  is  a  very  great  man — a  sort  of  Sultan — 
and  he  has  only  one  hand." 

I  said  :  *'  Long  ago  I  had  a  Somali  servant  who  had 
been  to  your  country  ;  do  you  know  him  ?" 

He  answered  :  "  A  Somali  is  only  a  dog  ;  how  should  I 
know  him  ?  But  an  Abyssinian  is  different  ;  moreover, 
this  one  has  great  honour  in  your  country." 

I  asked  Sadi  if  he  had  ever  heard  of  him,  and  he  said  : 
"  What  !  with  one  hand  ?  Yes  ;  I  know  him,  and  will 
tell  you  about  him.  There  is  not  a  bigger  thief  in  the 
whole  of  East  Africa.  He  used  to  live  at  Mombasa,  and 
his  first  effort  was  to  steal  a  sheep,  but  he  was  caught,  and 
imprisoned  for  four  months.  When  he  came  out,  he 
stole  a  chicken,  and  after  that  he  broke  into  a  house. 


318      WE  REACH  ADDIS  ABABA 


"  After  that,  he  walked  into  the  Custom-house  and 
shouldered  a  tin  of  kerosene,  and  tried  to  walk  out  with 
it  ;  but,  as  it  had  not  the  Customs  mark  on  it,  he  was 
caught  at  the  gate  and  put  in  prison  again.  When  he 
was  let  out  after  this,  he  had  grown  tired  of  Mombasa,  as 
he  was  too  well  known,  and  so  he  transferred  the  scene  of 
his  activities  up-country.' ' 

So  I  replied  to  the  Abyssinian  :  "I  made  a  mistake 
about  your  friend.  He  is  a  very  well  known  man  in  the 
largest  town  in  our  country,  called  Mombasa,  and  when 
he  was  last  there,  he  was  living  in  the  biggest  house  in  the 
place  "  (the  fort). 

The  old  Abdi  and  the  new  Abdi  were  now  responsible 
for  loading  and  looking  after  the  mules,  with  the  help  of 
the  sais  and  the  Uba  native,  Alamu,  who  had  accom- 
panied us  all  this  way.  However,  their  loads  were 
always  slipping  off,  causing  constant  delays  on  the  road. 

Our  wonderful  donkey,  on  the  other  hand,  was  loaded 
by  its  Garaugi  master,  and  never  did  its  load  slip  during 
a  whole  day's  march,  although  he  appeared  to  take  no 
trouble  with  it.  I  could  not  resist  chaffing  Abdi  about 
this,  as  Somalis  always  think  themselves  superior  to 
everybody.  I  said  :  "  Here  are  you  two  full-blooded 
Somalis  doing  up  your  loads  all  day  long,  whilst  this 
native,  with  his  little  donkey,  never  has  to  look  to  his 
load  again  after  starting." 

Abdi  was,  as  I  have  said  before,  a  very  nice  Somali, 
and  not  a  bit  conceited,  so  he  only  replied  :  "  Yes  ;  I 
don't  know  how  it  is,  or  what  he  does.  If  he  left  his 
donkey  alone  with  us  for  a  moment  whilst  he  went  off, 
that  donkey's  load  would  at  once  slip  off." 

On  reaching  the  summit  of  the  mountains  at  a  place 
called  Silte,  we  had  a  view  of  a  remarkable  mountain  in 


WE  REACH  ADDIS  ABABA  319 


front  of  us.  This  was  Zukwala — a  steep-sided,  square- 
topped  mountain,  of  much  the  same  shape  as  the  moun- 
tains remarked  from  Karo,  on  the  Omo.  On  its  side  is  a 
shrine  called  Tabot  Abo,  which  is  considered  by  the 
Abyssinians  as  a  very  sacred  spot. 

At  Silte  I  was  fortunate  in  obtaining  a  large  supply  of 
flour  for  the  men  and  a  certain  amount  of  firewood. 
Firewood  had  been  scarce  or  unobtainable  since  Kam- 
batta,  and  had  had  to  be  obtained  by  purchase  from  the 
villages. 

For  myself  there  was  nothing  to  eat  but  porridge  made 
of  red  flour,  till  a  very  pleasant  Galla  called  Roba  (Rain) 
came  to  call  on  me,  bringing  a  present  of  a  sheep,  honey, 
milk,  and  bread. 

Next  we  arrived  in  the  district  of  Maska,  the  inhabitants 
of  which  are  Christians,  whereas  the  majority  of  the 
Garaugi  are  Muhammadan  or  pagan. 

At  this  camp  I  had  a  curious  dream.  I  dreamt  that 
I  found  myself  on  a  railway-line,  and  following  this, 
met  with  an  unknown  kind  of  buck,  which  I  shot  at  with 
a  revolver,  and  which  Narok  then  pulled  down.  Going 
on  farther  I  met  an  elephant,  with  one  tusk  only,  but  of 
enormous  size.  Having  no  rifle,  I  rushed  back  along  the 
line  to  a  village  to  look  for  my  rifle,  and  met  Tengeneza. 
We  both  searched  frantically  for  one,  but  could  not  find 
any  of  mine.  Tengeneza  then  searched  in  the  huts,  and 
produced  an  Abyssinian  rifle,  a  fusil  gras,  very  rusty, 
and  with  but  two  rounds  of  ammunition.  With  this  I 
rushed  back  down  the  line,  and  found  the  elephant  still 
there,  but  was  unable  to  make  the  rifle  go  off,  and  then 
I  awoke. 

The  explanation  of  the  dream  was  simple  enough,  as 
I  had  seen  a  large  tusk  being  carried  along  that  day,  and 


320 


WE  REACH  ADDIS  ABABA 


had  also  been  talking  about  the  railway  which  I  had  been 
told  had  reached  Addis  Ababa  now.  Such  is  the 
reliability  of  native  information,  for  it  really  had  only 
reached  Dirre  Daua. 

However,  I  thought  that  I  would  give  Sadi  a  chance 
of  displaying  his  powers,  as  he  had  a  great  reputation  for 
the  interpreting  of  dreams.  Once  before  whilst  I  was  on 
trek,  a  native  in  Nairobi  dreamed  that  I  had  shot,  amongst 
many  black  animals,  one  white  animal. 

This  Sadi  interpreted  by  saying  that  I  had  shot  a  lion, 
which  was  quite  correct,  although  he  could  not  possibly 
have  heard  the  news  so  quickly.  In  this  case,  however, 
Sadi  only  offered  the  very  dull  interpretation  that  I  had 
made  up  my  mind  to  do  something,  and  that  afterwards 
I  had  not  done  it. 

Our  start  was  delayed,  as  two  of  the  mules  had  broken 
loose  during  the  night,  and  were  with  difficulty  caught 
again. 

Soon  after  we  started  we  met  a  man  on  a  grey  mule. 
He  offered  it  for  sale,  and  as  the  price  was  reasonable, 
I  paid  him  the  money,  and  then  we  set  out  to  look  for 
some  people  of  the  neighbourhood  before  whom  to  declare 
the  purchase.  This  is  always  customary  in  Abyssinia, 
as  an  animal  is  then  known  to  have  changed  hands,  and 
the  new  owner  cannot  be  accused  of  stealing  it. 

We  left  the  road,  and  visited  a  village  where  there  was 
a  great  concourse  of  people  sitting  round  a  hut,  much  too 
busy  to  give  more  than  a  passing  attention  to  our  affairs. 

It  appeared  that  there  had  been  a  number  of  thefts  of 
cattle  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  so  a  magician  had  been 
called  in  to  declare  by  divination  who  was  the  thief. 

Just  after  we  arrived,  the  ceremony  ceased,  and  the 
locality  in  which  the  thief  was  to  be  found  having  been 


WE  REACH  ADDIS  ABABA  321 


discovered  by  the  magician,  the  whole  assembly  arose 
and  rushed  for  their  mules,  held  by  attendants  near  by. 
Throwing  themselves  on  their  backs,  they  galloped  off 
in  great  haste  to  catch  the  thief  before  he  could  change 
his  quarters. 

I  then  went  back  to  the  road,  leading  the  new  mule, 
and  soon  overtook  my  men.  In  the  path  we  met  a 
native  coming  the  other  way,  who  stopped  me,  and  said 
that  a  lot  of  animals  were  being  sent  down  to  meet  me 
from  Addis  Ababa. 

I  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  this,  but  Sadi 
said  that  he  was  certain  that  the  news  of  our  safe  arrival 
in  Abyssinia  had  been  heard,  and  that  our  friends  were 
talking  about  us,  either  in  East  Africa  or  England,  as 
he  had  felt  a  twitching  of  the  eyelids  for  the  last  few 
days.    This  is  the  Swahili  substitute  for  ears  tingling. 

Thereupon  I  said  to  Sadi  :  "  This  is  the  explanation  of 
my  dream.  I  went  out  and  obtained  a  small  animal, 
the  buck,  but  did  not  get  the  large  one,  the  elephant. 
This  mule  is  the  small  animal  I  got,  and  those  animals 
we  have  heard  about  are  the  large  animal  I  did  not 
get." 

I  preceded  the  caravan  in  the  afternoon,  and  selected  a 
good  camping-ground  beside  a  stream.  Shortly  after- 
wards a  large  caravan  of  mules  carrying  coffee  arrived,  and 
the  drivers  started  unloading  them  where  I  was  sitting, 
on  the  exact  spot  I  had  myself  chosen.  As  I  had  arrived 
first,  and  occupied  the  place,  I  felt  that  I  was  entitled  to 
first  choice,  and  certainly  I  did  not  want  to  camp  rubbing 
shoulders  with  another  caravan,  so  I  drove  away  the 
mules,  and  told  the  men  they  must  go  elsewhere. 

They  replied  that  they  could  not  do  this,  as  they  had 
already  unloaded  some  of  the  mules,  and  could  not  shift 

21 


322      WE  REACH  ADDIS  ABABA 


the  loads.  Just  then  the  first  of  my  porters  came  in,  and 
so  I  told  them  to  take  away  the  loads  that  were  on  our 
camping-ground.  These  loads  were  about  a  hundred 
pounds  in  weight,  but  my  brawny  porters  picked  them 
up  with  ease,  and,  running  off,  deposited  them  at  a 
distance. 

The  owner  of  the  caravan  came  up  furious,  and  said 
that  he  claimed  the  spot  in  the  name  of  Menelek,  whose 
merchant  he  was.  I  replied  that  he  must  show  me 
Menelek's  letter  first.  This  he  could  not  do,  so  I  had  him 
ejected. 

Sadi  said  :  "  This  all  comes  of  breaking  a  gourd  ;  it  is 
very  unlucky  to  do  so,  and  always  means  a  quarrel.  At 
Dalbo  some  of  the  porters  broke  a  gourd,  although  I  told 
them  not  to,  and  afterwards  we  had  that  fight  in  the  road. 
To-day  we  dropped  and  smashed  that  gourd  on  the  way." 

That  night  some  of  the  men  and  Sadi  got  hold  of  some 
arahing,  a  spirit  much  stronger  than  any  they  were 
accustomed  to  in  their  own  country,  and  consequently 
got  very  drunk.  After  becoming  very  abusive  to  each 
other,  sleep  finally  overpowered  all  but  Sadi,  who  crept 
into  his  tent  thinking  that  he  was  a  lion,  and  spent  most 
of  the  night  in  roaring. 

Next  day  I  said  to  them  :  "  Perhaps  you  did  not  know 
how  strong  the  spirit  of  this  country  was.  Now  you 
know  there  will  be  no  excuse  for  you,  so  remember  that  in 
future  everyone  that  gets  drunk  also  gets  a  dozen  lashes. 
I  have  no  use  for  men  that  get  drunk,  as  they  make  them- 
selves objectionable  to  their  companions,  and  cannot 
carry  their  loads." 

Next  day  we  ascended  the  Maraku  Hills,  which  are 
covered  with  plantations  of  wild  bananas,  and  on  the  day 
following  we  descended  the  other  side,  and  arrived  in  a 


WE  REACH  ADDIS  ABABA  323 


country  of  thorn-trees,  where  at  last  we  could  obtain 
firewood  again. 

This  day  we  passed  some  Galla  villages.  I  passed 
these,  and  then  waited  for  the  men  to  catch  me  up,  as 
they  were  behind.  When  they  arrived,  after  an  immense 
delay,  I  was  told  that  they  had  got  up  a  fight  with  some 
Gallas,  and  had  been  beaten  by  them. 

It  appeared  that  the  man  called  Kobe  (Tortoise)  had 
arrived  at  the  villages,  and  wanted  to  buy  some  millet- 
beer.  Having  no  change,  he,  with  that  strange  simplicity 
which  characterized  my  men,  called  a  woman,  and,  giving 
her  a  dollar,  told  her  to  run  off  and  get  change. 

After  waiting  about  an  hour,  it  dawned  on  the  Tortoise 
that  he  had  become  a  victim  of  the  confidence  trick.  At 
this  he  was  very  angry,  and  complained  to  Abdi,  who 
had  just  come  up  with  the  mules.  Abdi  said  :  "  You  can 
do  nothing  now  unless  you  know  which  house  she  has 
gone  into."  Kobe  pointed  out  a  house,  and  Abdi  went 
in,  but  the  woman  was  not  there,  and,  of  course, 
everybody  denied  all  knowledge  of  her. 

Both  Omari  and  Abdi  told  him  that  he  had  been  a  fool, 
and  lost  his  money,  and  that  now  there  was  nothing  to 
do  but  he  must  pick  up  his  load,  and  go  on  at  once,  as  all 
the  porters  were  waiting  for  him.  He  refused  to  go  on, 
and  said  that  he  would  not  leave  the  place  till  he  had  had 
a  fight  about  it.  At  this  Abdi  said  :  "  I  tell  you  to  go  on  ; 
now  I  am  going  to  leave  you,  and  will  tell  the  Bwana." 

Kobe  then  got  up  a  fight  with  some  men  who  had  nothing 
to  do  with  it,  and  some  of  the  other  porters  chipped  in. 
Seeing  this,  a  great  number  of  Gallas  turned  out  with  sticks, 
and  severely  beat  several  of  the  porters,  especially 
Majaliwa,  whilst  Kobe  himself  got  off  very  lightly.  The 
porters  then  retreated  on  their  loads,  and  came  after  me. 

21—2 


324      WE  REACH  ADDIS  ABABA 


When  I  heard  this  I  was  very  angry,  as  it  is  a  most 
dangerous  thing  when  one's  men  get  up  quarrels  with  the 
inhabitants  of  a  country  one  passes  through.  Moreover, 
I  could  not  overlook  Kobe's  disobedience  to  the  headman. 

The  discipline  of  the  men  was  very  good  now,  and  they 
had  implicit  confidence  in  me.  Yet,  knowing  the  workings 
of  their  minds  so  well,  I  felt  certain  that  it  would  do  little 
good  to  punish  Kobe  at  once,  as  they  would  not  see  the 
justice  of  it.  A  native  has  as  a  rule  only  room  in  his 
mind  for  one  idea,  and  that  uppermost  in  theirs  at  the 
present  moment  was  that  the  man  had  been  robbed, 
and  they  had  been  beaten  by  the  natives.  They  could 
not  then  see  why  Kobe  should  be  punished  for  this,  and 
would  think  that  he  had  been  unjustly  treated. 

Nevertheless,  I  could  not  overlook  the  offence  of  dis- 
obedience to  Abdi  and  Omari,  so  I  had  first  to  talk  them 
over  before  any  punishment  would  be  of  practicable 
value. 

So  I  called  them  all  together,  and  said  :  "  Now  listen 
to  my  words.  Have  I  not  told  you  every  day  that  the 
people  of  this  country  have  no  equal  as  thieves  ?" 

They  replied  :  "  You  have  told  us." 

"  Have  I  not  told  you  never  to  trust  them  ?" 

"  Yes,  you  have." 

"  Yet  you  think  that  my  words  are  those  of  a  fool,  and 
you  do  not  listen  to  me,  but  throw  away  your  money  by 
giving  it  to  these  people.  Now  tell  me,  if  a  man  throws  his 
money  into  the  sea,  will  he  see  it  again  ?" 

They  answered  :  "  No,  he  will  lose  it." 

"  And  should  he  throw  himself  in  after  it,  what  will 
happen  ?" 

They  answered  :  "  He  will  be  drowned." 

I  said  :  "  Exactly  so.    Now,  men  of  greater  wisdom  than 


WE  REACH  ADDIS  ABABA  325 


yourselves,  Abdi  and  Omari,  said  to  this  man,  '  You  have 
thrown  your  money  into  the  sea  :  you  must  leave  it  there,' 
but  he  answered,  '  No,  I  will  throw  myself  in  after  it.' 
Is  he  a  fool  or  a  wise  man  ?" 
They  said  :  "  He  is  a  fool." 

"  Again,"  I  said,  "is  it  customary  in  my  caravan  to 
disobey  the  orders  of  the  headman  ?" 
They  answered  :  "No." 

"  When  we  fought  with  the  Wahabashi  at  my  order, 
were  we  successful  or  unsuccessful  ?" 

They  replied  :  "  We  defeated  the  Wahabashi." 

"  And  to-day,  have  you  defeated  them  or  been  defeated, 
and  beaten  ?" 

They  answered  :  "  We  have  been  beaten." 

"  Now,  do  you  think  it  is  a  disgrace  to  be  beaten  by 
these  Galla  or  not  ?" 

They  replied  :  "  It  is  a  disgrace." 

"  Do  you  think  that  the  news  will  travel  forward  or 
remain  just  in  this  place  ?" 

They  said  :  "It  will  go  forward." 

"  Just  so.  By  reason  of  this  man's  folly  we  are  all 
disgraced,  and  have  become  as  women  in  the  eyes  of  these 
people,  and  the  news  will  go  on  before  us,  and  who  has 
brought  this  disgrace  on  us  ?" 

They  said  :  "  Kobe." 

Then  I  said  :  "  This  Kobe,  if  he  had  only  started  a 
successful  fight  it  would  have  been  better,  but  he  has 
started  a  fight  in  which  we  have  all  been  disgraced.  Has 
he  done  well  or  ill  V 

They  replied  :  "  He  has  done  ill." 

"  Yes,  he  has  done  ill,  and  he  has,  moreover,  disobeyed 
the  order  of  my  headman,  so  he  must  be  punished." 
At  this  the  unfortunate  Kobe  immediately  lay  down 


326       WE  REACH  ADDIS  ABABA 


on  the  ground  to  receive  his  beating,  and  having  got  over 
this  unpleasant  little  episode,  everyone  proceeded  in  the 
best  of  spirits.  I  asked  Kobe  :  "  Now,  don't  you  think 
that  you  have  been  a  fool  ?"  He  said  :  "  Yes,  Bwana, 
I  have."  Then  I  told  him  that  he  must  be  careful  of  the 
people  in  future,  or  they  would  rob  him  of  everything, 
even  the  clothes  off  his  back.  I  asked  him  what  sort  of 
disgrace  it  would  be  for  me  if  I  arrived  in  Addis  Ababa 
with  a  caravan  of  naked  porters.  What  would  my 
fellow  white  men  say  ?  "  Can't  you  afford  to  give  your 
men  clothes  ?"  I  should  say  :  "  Yes,  they  all  had  clothes 
to  start  with,  but  they  had  them  stolen  on  the  way." 

At  this  Kobe  laughed  good-humouredly,  and  shoulder- 
ing his  load,  a  buffalo  head,  he  ran  on,  bearing  me  no  ill- 
will  for  the  punishment  he  had  just  received. 

It  was  very  pleasant  being  able  to  pick  up  plenty  of 
firewood  round  our  camp  instead  of  having  to  buy  with 
great  difficulty  a  little  at  a  time.  However,  many  of  the 
porters  were  much  too  lordly  to  pick  up  the  firewood 
lying  ready  to  hand,  but  used  to  walk  off  to  a  village 
several  hundred  yards  away  and  there  buy  some.  As 
they  had  been  unable  to  spend  anything  in  the  low 
country  they  now  had  a  lot  of  back  pay  due  to  them, 
which  they  did  their  best  to  get  rid  of.  They  enjoyed 
immensely  posing  as  millionaires  before  the  very  poor 
inhabitants  of  the  country.  They  were  never  so  happy 
as  when  stalking  back  to  camp  followed  by  a  woman 
staggering  under  a  load  of  firewood,  and  a  boy  carrying 
chickens  and  flour  which  they  had  purchased. 

A  descent  through  rolling  country  covered  with  thorn- 
trees  brought  us  to  the  River  Hawash,  over  which  is  a  well- 
made  bridge  of  European  construction.  We  crossed  this, 
and  camped  a  few  miles  from  the  other  bank. 


WE  REACH  ADDIS  ABABA  327 


Now  we  were  only  two  days'  journey  for  the  porters 
from  Addis  Ababa,  so  I  decided  to  leave  the  men  to  come 
on  slowly,  and  go  ahead  with  Abdi. 

For  five  months  I  had  not  seen  a  single  white  man,  or 
heard  a  single  word  of  English  spoken,  whilst  all  my  stores, 
save  tea  and  salt,  were  finished.  Some  might  think  that 
I  was  overjoyed  at  the  prospect  before  me  of  meeting  the 
comforts  of  civilization,  having  good  food,  and  a  comfort- 
able bed,  and  a  rest  from  the  continual  trek.  It  was  not 
so,  however,  for  I  felt  a  strange  diffidence  in  taking  on  all 
the  responsibilities  of  civilization  once  again.  I  thought 
of  the  bills  that  might  be  awaiting  me,  and  all  the  worries 
and  trials  of  ordinary  life.  At  that  moment  I  would 
have  given  anything  to  be  able  to  turn  round  and  go  back, 
without  ever  having  reached  the  civilization  so  close. 

It  could  not  be,  however,  as  my  funds  and  my  leave 
were  both  already  overspent,  so  I  had  to  make  up  my 
mind  to  throw  myself  into  the  whirl  of  civilized  life  once 
again. 

Abdi  and  I  started  at  5  a.m.  on  mules,  and,  alternately 
walking  and  riding,  proceeded  on  our  way  to  the  great 
city  of  Abyssinia. 

We  soon  left  the  thorn  country,  and  embarked  on  the 
cold,  bare  downs  of  Shoa.  Here  again  firewood  of  any 
sort  is  unobtainable.  Owing  to  the  lack  of  wood,  huts 
here  and  in  Addis  Ababa  are  made  in  the  usual  form  of 
the  circular  thatched  building,  but  with  stone  walls. 

About  one  o'clock  we  came  in  sight  of  the  town,  and 
its  many  houses  of  European  and  Arab  structures.  Out- 
side these  were  clustered  thousands  of  stone-walled  huts. 

Behind  the  city  rises  up  a  low  rocky  hill,  whilst  on  the 
other  three  sides  were  vast  encampments,  consisting  of 
thousands  and  thousands  of  tents,  stretching  three  or 


328       WE  REACH  ADDIS  ABABA 


four  miles  from  the  town  in  each  direction.  We  passed 
through  this  belt,  consisting  of  tents  of  all  sizes,  from  the 
little  soldier's  tente  d'abris  to  great  marquees  for  the  more 
important  men.  Some  were  made  of  calico,  and  others 
of  black  material,  like  the  wool  of  the  Bernus  cloak. 

We  passed  through  to  the  other  side  of  the  town,  and 
at  last  reached  the  British  Legation,  a  neatly  constructed 
building,  consisting  of  a  number  of  well-made  huts  in  the 
form  of  a  square,  connected  with  each  other  by  passages. 

I  arrived  here  about  four  o'clock,  and  was  most  hos- 
pitably received  by  the  Acting  Minister.  In  spite  of  my 
modest  disclaimers  that  I  was  not  hungry,  he  immediately 
ordered  his  Goanese  butler  to  prepare  a  meal.  For  this 
I  was  very  thankful,  as  I  had  had  nothing  all  day  except 
a  hurried  snack  at  4.30  that  morning. 

This  was  followed  by  a  hot  bath  and  a  hair-cut,  the 
latter  an  operation  I  badly  needed,  as  my  hair  reached 
almost  to  my  shoulders. 

That  night,  after  a  good  dinner,  I  turned  in  to  sleep 
between  sheets  for  the  first  time  for  three  years,  but  the 
luxury  was  so  unaccustomed  that  I  failed  to  get  any  sleep 
the  whole  night. 

As  Addis  Ababa  is  so  well  known,  I  will  not  attempt  to 
describe  it,  nor  will  I  dwell  on  the  journey  from  there  to 
Dirre  Daua  and  the  coast,  as  that  has  also  been  travelled 
over  by  many  white  men. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY 

The  two  chief  tribes  in  Abyssinia  are,  as  is  well  known, 
the  Tigre  and  the  Amara  (generally  called  Amhara). 
The  Tigre  were  the  old  reigning  dynasty,  but  on  the 
death  of  King  Johannes,  Menelek  made  himself  King, 
and  now  the  Amaras  of  Shoa  are  the  ruling  class. 

The  Amara  are  generally  very  dark,  much  darker  than 
the  majority  of  tribes  they  govern,  whilst  the  Tigre  are 
much  lighter.  Amongst  the  Amara  lighter-coloured 
women  and  children  are  often  met  with,  and  this  usually 
means  that  the  husband  or  father  has  married  a  woman 
of  some  other  tribe,  such  as  Wallamu  or  Garaugi. 

A  few  Amara  and  also  Tigre  are  Muhammadans,  but 
the  great  majority  are  Christians.  They  have  forced  this 
religion  on  some  of  their  subjects,  such  as  part  of  the 
Garaugi  and  Galla  tribes.  A  black  cord  is  worn  round 
the  neck  as  a  badge  of  their  religion. 

Many  of  the  other  tribes  in  Abyssinia,  including  the 
greater  part  of  the  Gallas  and  Garaugi,  are  Muhammadans, 
and  also,  of  course,  the  countries  on  either  side  of 
Abyssinia,  east  and  west,  are  purely  Muhammadan. 

Although  the  Muhammadan  element  have  always  out- 
numbered the  Christian,  the  latter  have  always  been  able 
to  hold  their  own,  although  bitter  struggles  have  taken 
place  in  the  past  between  the  two  religions.    The  chief 

329 


330     THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY 


difference  between  Christianity  as  practised  by  the 
Abyssinians  and  by  us  is  in  the  killing  of  meat,  for  with 
them  no  meat  is  lawful  that  has  not  been  prepared  in  the 
orthodox  way  by  a  Christian. 

The  method  of  killing  resembles  that  practised  by  the 
Jews.  It  is  not  permissible  to  use  for  this  purpose  a  knife  that 
has  been  used  to  kill  or  carve  meat  by  a  Muhammadan. 

On  our  way  up  to  the  capital  we  heard  at  different  places 
that  the  Governors  of  all  the  provinces  we  had  passed  near 
had  been  called  up  to  Addis  Ababa.  It  was  only  when 
we  reached  this  place  that  I  heard  the  reason.  Menelek 
had  been  ill  for  some  time,  and  was  now  practically  only 
a  figure-head,  while  Queen  Taitu  was  the  virtual  ruler. 
There  had  long  been  difficulties  about  arranging  for  a 
successor  to  Menelek,  as  he  had  no  legitimate  son,  and  his 
nominated  successor,  Ras  Makunan,  had  died  before  him. 

Queen  Taitu,  an  ambitious  woman,  who  is  a  sort  of 
Dowager  Empress  of  China,  took  advantage  of  Menelek's 
prostrate  condition  to  advance  the  claims  of  her  own 
candidates  for  succession.  Now  matters  had  been 
arranged  between  them,  to  the  apparent  satisfaction  of 
both  parties,  and  Menelek's  nominee,  a  boy  called  Lij 
Iyasu,  had  been  selected  as  successor.  To  make  things 
straight  with  Taitu,  he  had  been  married  to  a  six-year-old 
girl,  a  relation  of  the  Queen.  It  was  for  the  proclamation 
of  this  heir  that  all  the  Governors  had  been  called  in  from 
the  provinces,  so  that  they  might  swear  allegiance  to  him. 

Although  both  parties  have  declared  that  they  are 
satisfied  with  this  arrangement,  there  is  no  guarantee  that 
the  37oung  heir  will  come  to  the  throne  on  Menelek's  death. 
Queen  Taitu  is  a  thoroughly  unscrupulous  woman,  who 
has  her  own  followers,  army,  and  provinces  apart  from 
those  of  her  husband. 


THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY  331 


On,  or  perhaps  even  before,  his  death  she  can  be 
counted  upon  to  play  for  her  own  hand  entirely,  and  a 
small  boy  will  be  no  obstacle  to  her  in  attaining  her  ends. 

No  wonder,  then,  that  she  has  agreed,  and  expressed 
herself  satisfied  with  the  arrangement  in  question,  because 
she  will  be  able  either  to  act  as  regent  for  Lij  Iyasu,  or 
get  rid  of  him,  as  suits  her  purpose  best. 

Succession  is  not  considered  of  much  account  in  Abys- 
sinia, and  any  strong  man  in  the  kingdom  has  a  greater 
chance  of  obtaining  the  throne  on  the  death  of  a  ruler 
than  the  heir  himself,  if  the  latter  is  a  weak  man.  Menelek 
himself  and  most  of  his  predecessors  took  the  throne  by 
the  sword,  and  it  is  quite  likely  that  the  next  ruler  will 
not  depart  from  the  usual  custom  in  this  respect. 

In  Addis  Ababa  I  parted  with  the  new  Abdi,  who  had 
joined  us  a  few  days  before,  and  also  with  Alamu,  who 
had  come  the  whole  way  from  Uba.  I  also  hired  some 
mules  and  mulemen  to  take  some  of  our  loads  to  Dirre 
Daua.  There  was  little  food  to  be  obtained  on  the  way, 
so  we  had  to  carry  a  certain  amount  for  the  porters,  and 
also  I  wanted  to  reduce  the  porters'  loads  to  thirty  or 
forty  pounds  each,  so  as  to  make  rapid  marches. 

As  there  were  several  final  arrangements  to  make  in 
Addis  Ababa,  such  as  obtaining  passes  and  so  on,  I  sent 
off  the  caravan  in  front,  keeping  Abdi  to  follow  on  with 
me.  We  did  not  get  away  until  late  in  the  afternoon. 
We  were  assured  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  mistake 
the  road,  and  that  it  was  quite  unnecessary  to  have  a 
guide.  However,  I  did  not  feel  competent  to  find  my 
way  along  an  unknown  path  on  a  dark  night  to  an  unknown 
destination,  so  I  insisted  on  having  a  guide. 

Soon  after  starting  it  began  to  rain,  and  the  roads 
were  very  bad  and  clayey,  resembling  ploughed  fields. 


332     THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY 


Enormous  clods  of  earth,  weighing  many  pounds,  collected 
on  each  foot,  and  made  walking  extremely  unpleasant, 
whilst  the  clouds  made  the  night  pitch  black. 

With  great  difficulty  we  descended  the  steep-sided 
nullah  in  which  the  Akaki  River  flows,  and  crossed  the  bed, 
which  was  a  mass  of  loose  boulders. 

After  marching  four  hours  in  the  dark  it  at  last  dawned 
on  me  that  even  with  a  guide  we  had  mistaken  the  way. 
At  last  we  heard  voices,  and,  making  our  way  towards 
them,  found  a  kraal.  It  was  with  considerable  difficulty 
that  our  guide  could  establish  communication  with  its 
occupants,  as  natives  mistrust  voices  coming  out  of  the 
darkness  at  night,  attributing  them  to  devils. 

After  carefully  explaining  who  we  were,  they  told  us 
that  there  was  a  white  man's  camp  somewhere  to  the 
south,  so  we  set  off  in  that  direction.  We  passed  two 
more  kraals,  but  the  inhabitants  would  not  answer,  and 
then  we  saw  a  light  in  the  distance. 

We  made  for  this,  and  when  we  came  near  saw  that  it 
was  my  lamp.  As  the  country  was  open  the  way  was 
easy,  except  for  one  large  stream,  which  held  us  up  for 
some  time  before  we  could  find  a  crossing.  When  we 
arrived  in  camp  I  found  a  pile  of  loads  covered  over  by 
the  fly  of  my  tent,  on  the  top  of  which  was  my  lamp. 

When  Omari  came  out  of  his  tent  I  wanted  to  know 
why  my  tent  had  not  been  put  up,  and  he  said  that  Tumbo 
had  been  carrying  one  of  the  poles,  and  driving  one  of  our 
mules  which  was  not  loaded.  The  mule  had  left  the  path 
and  run  away,  and  Tumbo  had  followed  it,  and  had  not 
been  seen  since.  He  also  said  that  porters  had  been  back 
as  far  as  the  Akaki  with  the  lamp  looking  for  me,  and 
only  returned  shortly  before  midnight. 

He  had  done  his  best,  but  anything  out  of  the  ordinary 


THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY  333 


routine  upsets  the  native,  and  it  had  never  dawned  on 
him  that  he  might  have  put  up  my  tent  with  the  poles  of 
one  of  theirs. 

I  told  him  to  put  up  the  tent  at  once  with  his  tent-poles, 
and  get  the  things  out  of  the  rain,  whilst  he  could  sleep 
in  one  of  the  porter's  tents.  I  then  sat  down  in  a  wet 
chair  in  the  rain,  and  presently  Sadi  and  the  cook  pro- 
duced a  cold  leg  of  mutton  and  some  tea. 

As  the  light  of  the  lamp  was  required  to  put  up  the 
tent  with,  I  had  to  feed  in  the  dark,  a  circumstance  that 
made  the  joint  present  a  very  curious  appearance  next  day. 

Next  morning  Tumbo  appeared  rather  late,  and  said 
that  the  mule  had  run  into  a  camp  amongst  a  lot  of  other 
mules,  and  that  there  he  had  been  unable  to  recognize 
it,  and  the  Abyssinians  had  turned  him  away. 

He  had  then  gone  back  to  the  Legation,  and  fetched 
the  only  man  whom  he  could  speak  to  there,  the  door- 
keeper, who  happened  to  be  a  Swahili,  and  taken  him  to 
explain  to  the  Abyssinians,  but  the  latter  had  refused  to 
let  them  come  into  their  camp. 

I  could  not  afford  the  time  to  go  back  and  see  about 
it,  so  I  had  to  leave  it.  Abdi  said  that  it  was  written  in  a 
book  somewhere  that  some  men  were  lucky  with  four- 
legged  animals,  while  others  were  unfortunate,  but  lucky 
with  other  things. 

One  man  might  obtain  one  cow,  and  from  that  would 
breed  and  fill  a  kraal,  while  another  might  have  a  kraal 
full,  and  lose  them  all.  I  was  evidently  one  of  the 
unlucky  ones  with  four-legged  beasts,  so  I  ought  never  to 
buy  an  animal.  I  asked  him  what  I  was  lucky  with 
then — two-legged  animals  ?  which  in  Swahili  means 
slaves. 

After  two  to  three  days'  trek  over  the  bare,  cold  and 


334     THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY 


wet  Shoa  Downs  we  commenced  a  series  of  descents, 
which  eventually  brought  us  to  the  low  desert  country  of 
the  Danakils. 

After  descending  the  second  escarpment  we  left  the 
rain  and  mud  behind  us,  and  reached  a  dry  country  called 
Balchi,  where  the  Galla  inhabitants  store  water  in  large 
reservoirs  or  ponds  fenced  round.  They  are  connected 
by  aqueducts  with  watercourses,  and  fill  up  quickly  during 
a  shower,  as,  owing  to  the  rocky  nature  of  the  surface, 
the  little  water  there  is  does  not  sink  in. 

A  further  descent  brought  us  to  Choba,  at  which  place 
water  is  only  to  be  had  by  purchase  from  a  walled-in 
cistern  on  the  side  of  the  hill. 

On  the  hill  above  this  place  lives  a  very  fat  Gerezmach, 
who  sits  like  a  spider  in  its  web,  fattening  himself  by 
bleeding  all  who  pass  by.  Shortly  after  I  arrived  he 
came  down  to  my  camp,  and  we  went  through  the 
lengthy  formula  of  saying  "  How-do-you-do." 

He  asked  where  I  had  come  from,  and  several  other 
things ;  then,  having  done  the  polite,  he  gave  a  sigh  of 
relief,  and  thought  about  turning  to  more  profitable  things. 
He  commenced  by  asking  where  my  Abyssinian  interpreter 
was.  I  said  that  I  had  none.  "  You  must  have  an 
interpreter,"  he  said.  I  replied  :  "  I  am  the  interpreter, 
and  you  can  ask  me  anything  you  want  to  know." 

This  rather  disconcerted  him,  as  the  usual  practice  is  to 
get  hold  of  the  Abyssinian  interpreter,  and  tell  him  how 
much  his  white  man  has  to  pay  up  before  passing  on. 
The  interpreter  breaks  the  news  to  the  white  man  that 
it  is  customary  to  pay  so  much,  and  if  he  objects  the 
Abyssinian  mule-men  are  made  to  refuse  to  proceed. 
When  the  money  has  been  extorted  the  interpreter  gets  a 
small  share  of  the  proceeds.    In  my  case,  however,  the 


Balchi  Escarpment 

Abyssinia  is  a  mountainous  country  surrounded  by  waterless  deserts.  It  can  only  be  entered  at 
certain  places  by  such  narrow,  precipitous  paths  as  the  one  here  depicted.  This  path  is  a  mule- 
track  cut  in  the  face  of  the  mountain.  A  glance  at  it  will  be  enough  to  explain  how  disaster  has 
overtaken  the  various  forces  which,  at  different  times,  have  tried  to  invade  this  country. 


THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY  335 


Gerezmach  was  at  a  loss  how  to  proceed,  and  he  stood 
first  on  on  leg,  then  on  the  other,  wondering  what  to  do. 

Then  he  tried  several  of  my  men,  but  was  received  with 
stony  stares.  I  tried  to  carry  on  the  conversation  that 
we  had  started  so  well,  but  he  now  pretended  not  to 
understand  me. 

At  this  moment  Abdi  returned,  so  I  told  the  Gerezmach 
that  here  was  a  man  who  could  speak  Galla.  As  the 
Gerezmach  himself  could  not  speak  this  language,  he  had 
to  speak  to  Abdi  through  an  interpreter,  and  as  I  could 
understand  what  he  said  to  the  interpreter,  I  could  answer 
him  before  his  remarks  reached  Abdi. 

This  was  not  much  use  to  him,  so  he  gave  it  up,  and 
began  talking  to  me  again.  Presently  he  asked  me  if  I 
could  give  him  a  pencil  and  some  paper.  To  this  modest 
request  I  immediately  acceded,  and  went  off  to  my  tent 
to  fetch  some. 

Directly  I  had  gone  he  called  Abdi,  and  said  to  him  : 
"  We  Abyssinians  and  you  Somalis  are  friends,  and  these 
white  men  are  our  enemies.  You  must  make  your  white 
man  pay  me  so  much  before  he  can  go  on."  He  struck 
rather  the  wrong  note  here,  as  the  Somalis  hate  the 
Abyssinians.  Anyhow,  Abdi  said  :  "  Well,  the  white  man 
understands  your  language,  and  I  do  not ;  you  had  better 
ask  him  yourself." 

When  I  returned  I  found  the  Gerezmach  looking  rather 
discomforted.  He  then  made  his  adieux,  and  asked  me 
if  I  was  not  going  to  give  him  anything.  I  said,  "  Cer- 
tainly not,"  as  I  had  not  received  the  slightest  hospitality 
from  him. 

He  said  that  most  white  men  that  passed  gave  him  a 
rifle  and  a  box  of  ammunition,  so  I  said  that  even  amongst 
white  men  there  were  unfortunately  fools. 


336     THE  END  OF  THE  TOURNEY 


At  this  he  went  off,  and  in  the  evening  he  returned  again 
with  two  bottles  of  milk  and  a  very  skinny  chicken  as  a 
present.  On  receiving  this  I  gave  him  the  saddle  and 
bridle  of  the  horse,  which  were  no  longer  any  use  to  me. 
Abdi  was  very  annoyed  with  me  for  giving  him  anything 
at  all,  and  said  that  he  deserved  nothing. 

After  leaving  Choba  we  descended  a  steep  escarpment 
by  a  mule-track,  some  idea  of  which  may  be  gathered 
from  the  photograph. 

At  the  foot  of  this  we  came  to  the  desert  country  of  the 
people  we  call  the  Danakil. 

This  word  is  presumably  derived  from  the  Arabic 
Dankeli,  but  the  people  call  themselves  the  O'da  Ali.  The 
route  from  Dirre  Daua  to  Addis  Ababa,  passing  through 
this  corner  of  their  country,  is,  of  course,  well  known, 
but  the  rest  of  their  country,  between  here  and  the  Red 
Sea  littoral,  is  some  of  the  most  unknown  country  in  Africa. 

They  are  a  truculent  people,  and  give  the  Abyssinians 
constant  trouble.  Even  on  the  Addis  Ababa  route  itself 
they  occasionally  waylay  a  solitary  man  and  kill  him, 
and  for  this  reason  the  Abyssinians  always  go  in  parties. 
At  the  present  moment  many  of  them  had  gone  off  to  fight 
with  the  Black  Esa. 

At  the  foot  of  the  last  of  the  Balchi  escarpments  we 
met  with  an  arid  and  stony  desert  country,  and  were 
once  again  amidst  camel-owning  peoples.  Nairobi,  having 
trekked  for  several  months  with  camels,  was  quite  in- 
different to  them,  but  our  Abyssinian  mules  were  wild 
with  fright  at  seeing  these  strange  beasts. 

As  there  was  only  one  road,  and  no  chance  of  the  men 
losing  the  way,  I  rode  on  ahead  some  distance,  and  then 
sat  under  a  thorn-tree  to  graze  my  mule,  and  await  the 
advent  of  the  caravan. 


THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY  337 


As  I  sat  here  some  Danakils  passed,  cheery  customers 
with  broad-bladed  spears,  and  tobes  like  the  inland 
Somalis.  I  stopped  them,  and  managed  to  hold  quite  a  long, 
but  rather  laboured,  conversation  with  them  by  means 
of  a  few  words  of  Somali,  Arabic,  and  Amharic  mixed. 

They  asked  me  if  I  was  not  afraid  to  go  alone  in  this 
country.  I  said  :  "  Afraid  of  what  ?"  They  replied  in  the 
most  cheery  fashion  possible  :  "  Why,  don't  you  know  that 
we  Danakils  kill  people  if  we  find  them  alone  on  the 
road  ? "  I  have  not  the  least  idea  if  they  were  trying  to  get 
a  rise  out  of  me  or  not,  but  this  is  certainly  what  they  said. 

I  did  not  quite  know  what  the  reply  courteous  was  to 
this  remark,  so  I  asked  if  they  did  not  prefer  Abyssinians 
to  white  men.  I  then  asked  where  they  were  going  to. 
They  replied  that  a  camel  had  just  died  in  a  neighbouring 
kraal,  and  that  they  were  going  off  to  eat  it.  They  then 
ran  off  in  a  hurry,  lest  they  should  be  late  for  the  feast. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  men  we  proceeded  to  a  stream 
called  Tadacha  Malka,  meaning  "  the  drinking-place  of 
the  thorn-trees." 

In  this  hot,  low  country  it  was  necessary,  for  the  sake 
of  the  men  and  animals,  to  do  as  much  marching  at  night 
as  the  moon  would  permit  of,  and  so  we  generally  started 
at  somewhere  between  two  and  four  in  the  morning. 

It  was  the  duty  of  the  night-watchman  to  wake  me  up 
in  time  to  start.  As  the  men  could  not  tell  the  time  from 
a  watch,  I  used  to  resort  to  various  stratagems  to  ruake 
them  call  us  at  the  proper  time.  If  the  moon  was  suit- 
able, I  used  to  say,  "  Call  us  directly  the  moon  rises."  When 
the  moon  was  small  and  waning,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
pack  and  load  up  before  it  arose,  so  as  to  make  the  most 
of  it  after  it  rose  and  before  dawn. 

Sometimes  I  used  to  select  a  star,  and  tell  them  to  call 

22 


338     THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY 


us  when  it  set,  or  when  it  reached  a  certain  branch  of  a 
tree,  but  this  was  most  unsatisfactory,  as  they  would 
forget  which  star  had  been  indicated. 

Their  most  usual  method  was  to  wake  up  either  Abdi 
or  myself  from  time  to  time,  and  ask  us  the  hour.  Abdi 
had  had  the  watch  I  gave  him  stolen  in  Addis  Ababa,  and 
so  now  it  was  necessary  to  wake  me  up  to  ascertain  the 
hour.  This  I  did  not  object  to  at  all,  as  I  think  it  is  very 
dull  just  to  sleep  through  a  night  till  one  is  told  that  it  is 
time  to  get  up  ;  moreover,  one  always  feels  tired  and 
sleepy  after  a  long  sleep. 

To  be  called  from  time  to  time,  and  think  that  it  is  time 
to  get  up,  and  then  find  that  one  can  go  to  sleep  again, 
is  most  pleasant,  and  when  one  finally  does  get  up  one 
feels  as  if  one  has  had  a  lot  of  sleep. 

However,  even  this  arrangement  did  not  always  work 
smoothly.  The  porters  generally  went  to  bed  about 
seven  or  eight  o'clock,  as  our  marches  were  long  and 
trying.  I  used  to  sit  up  till  about  twelve  as  a  rule, 
writing  and  working  out  observations.  The  day  we  came 
to  Choba  I  sat  writing  till  10.30,  and  then  went  out 
and  spoke  to  the  sentry,  and  returned  again,  and  after 
doing  a  little  more  work  turned  in,  having  put  my  watch 
and  lamp  ready  beside  me  on  a  box. 

I  had  only  just  got  to  sleep  when  I  heard  the  sentry 
calling  me,  and  asking  if  it  was  time  to  get  up.  Looking 
at  my  watch,  I  saw  that  it  was  only  one  o'clock,  so  I  told 
him  that  it  was  seven  o'clock  (Swahili  reckoning).  Con- 
gratulating myself  that  it  was  not  yet  time  to  start,  I 
turned  over  and  went  to  sleep  again. 

Presently  I  was  awakened  by  the  hum  of  voices,  and, 
looking  at  my  watch,  saw  that  it  was  1.30.  I  called  out 
to  know  what  was  the  matter,  and  Sadi  came  to  say 


THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY  339 


that  they  had  all  been  told  to  get  up  by  the  sentry. 
Telling  them  to  go  to  sleep  again,  I  turned  over,  but  the 
men  had  been  thoroughly  roused,  and  the  hum  of  voices 
persisted,  so  it  was  no  good  trying  to  sleep  any  more. 
I  got  up  very  cross,  and  we  had  to  wait  in  the  dark  until 
the  moon  rose,  and  it  was  light  enough  to  proceed. 

Next  morning  the  sentry  called  me  at  three  o'clock,  and 
as  I  had  decided  to  get  up  at  3.30,  and  start  trekking 
at  four,  I  told  him  to  wait  for  half  an  hour  before 
waking  up  the  men.  Evidently  he  did  not  want  to 
incur  my  displeasure,  like  the  man  of  the  day  before,  so 
he  went  away,  and  did  not  come  back  at  all.  When  I 
next  looked  at  my  watch  it  was  nearly  five  o'clock,  and 
dawn  was  about  to  break,  so  we  lost  a  valuable  hour  of 
the  cool  marching  hours.  The  men,  however,  marched 
well,  and  we  reached  that  day  a  shallow  pool  in  a  rocky 
watercourse  near  Fantali  Hill. 

The  water  was  filthy,  as  it  was  only  a  few  yards  broad, 
and  had  been  stirred  up  and  fouled  by  hundreds  of  men, 
camels,  and  mules  daily. 

Dirty  water  is  all  right  if  one  cannot  possibly  get  any 
other,  but  many  natives  get  so  accustomed  to  it  that 
they  never  trouble  to  look  for  anything  better.  This 
pool  was  on  the  track  itself,  and  had  a  dirty  camping- 
place  on  each  side.  I  thought  that  as  there  was  a  pool 
here  in  the  river-bed,  there  would  possibly  be  another, 
and  that  it  would  probably  be  purer.  I  waited  about 
half  an  hour  by  the  water,  watching  the  different  natives 
pass  wading  into  it  with  their  animals,  and  filling  up 
their  water-bottles  from  its  foul  contents. 

When  I  saw  my  caravan  approaching  I  set  out  for  a 
search  for  water,  expecting  to  have  to  go  a  mile  or  two. 
Twenty  or  thirty  yards  from  the  first  pool  I  found  a 

22—2 


340     THE  EXD  OF  THE  JOURNEY 


little  hole  in  the  rock  with  much  better  water,  and  in  the 
next  hundred  yards  two  or  three  more  with  beautiful 
clear  rain-water.  These  had  been  absolutely  untouched 
by  the  many  caravans  that  passed  daily,  just  because 
every  native  follows  those  in  front  like  sheep,  and  never 
tries  to  strike  out  a  line  of  his  own.  The  same  thing 
applies  to  camps,  as  they  always  want  to  pitch  camp  on 
a  dirty  old  camping-ground  because  everybody  else  camps 
there,  although  anywhere  else  may  be  just  as  suitable,  or 
more  so. 

We  crossed  the  Hawash  River  by  a  well-made  though 
narrow  bridge,  and  after  this  crossed  some  clear-running 
streams  which  come  from  the  Harrar  highlands.  It  was 
occasionally  necessary  to  make  rather  a  long  march  to 
reach  water,  but  we  never  had  to  stop  a  night  without 
water  the  whole  way  to  Dirre  Daua. 

On  June  3,  1909,  I  went  to  bed  about  nine  o'clock. 
The  sentry  awoke  me  about  midnight,  and  from  then 
onwards  every  quarter  of  an  hour  or  so  till  2  a.m.,  when 
I  gave  the  order  to  break  up  camp.  Finally,  when  we 
had  got  everything  packed  up,  there  was  a  total  eclipse  of 
the  moon,  so  we  had  to  proceed  in  the  dark. 

I  had  never  had  an  opportunity  of  watching  natives 
during  an  eclipse  before,  but,  according  to  the  usual  story- 
book accounts,  they  should  show  the  wildest  fright  and 
consternation.  My  men  were  very  indifferent  to  the 
phenomenon,  merely  remarking,  "  The  moon  has  been 
caught  to-day." 

I  asked  them  what  was  happening  to  the  moon,  and  so 
they  told  me.  It  appears  that  what  we  call  an  eclipse, 
and  think  is  due  to  the  penumbra  of  the  earth,  is  in  reality 
something  very  different.  A  large  snake  that  had  been 
chasing  the  moon  for  a  long  while  had  at  last  caught  it, 


THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY  341 


and  was  now  swallowing  it,  and  as  we  looked  we  could 
see  its  jaws  slowly  but  surely  closing  over  it. 

However,  my  men  assured  me  that  we  should  not  lose 
that  celestial  body  for  ever,  as  this  enormous  pill  in  the 
end  always  proved  too  much  for  the  snake,  and  it  had 
eventually  to  disgorge  it.  This  proved  to  be  quite 
correct,  for  just  before  sunrise  the  moon  began  to  reappear, 
and  the  next  night  it  was  in  its  accustomed  place  none 
the  worse. 

We  camped  that  night  by  a  zariba  of  Hawiya  Somalis, 
and  Abdi  and  I  visited  one  old  man  in  his  gurgi,  and  he 
gave  us  milk,  and  told  us  the  news.  A  gurgi  is  a  dwelling 
of  camel-mats  supported  by  poles.  In  this  case  it  was 
built  in  the  form  of  a  rectangle,  and  supported  on  the 
sticks  called  hangol,  a  description  of  which  was  given  in  the 
chapter  on  the  Rendile. 

These  sticks  were  stuck  upright  in  the  ground,  and 
supported  the  roof,  which  was  flat,  and  made  of  camel- 
mats.  The  gurgi  was  divided  in  half  by  an  interior  wall, 
and  one  of  these  halves  was  again  subdivided.  The 
entrance-door  led  into  the  undivided  part,  which  was  a 
shelter  for  the  recently  born  calves  at  night.  From  this 
outer  apartment  a  doorway  led  into  an  inner  apartment 
or  sitting-room,  and  this  again  led  into  the  sleeping-room. 
The  whole  structure  was  about  six  yards  square  and 
four  feet  high,  a  regular  pa] ace  for  a  Somali. 

We  heard  from  our  host  that  an  Esa  had  killed  one  of 
the  O'da  Ali,  which  led  to  a  small  fight  between  two 
kraals,  and  then  a  bigger  fight,  in  which  more  had  joined  in. 

The  O'da  Ali  (Danakils)  had  attacked  the  Black  Esa 
near  a  place  called  Odol,  some  days  to  our  north,  and 
captured  some  stock.  The  Esa,  reinforced,  followed  them, 
and  killed  a  certain  number.    Now  both  sides  had  retired, 


342     THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY 


and  were  waiting  reinforcements  before  again  opening 
hostilities.  The  O'da  Ali  had  declared  their  intention 
of  sitting  and  eating  at  a  place  called  Den  until  the  end 
of  the  month,  when  they  were  going  to  attack  the  Esa. 
The  former  had  a  good  number  of  ponies  and  rifles, 
whilst  the  latter  had  only  a  few. 

Two  days  later  we  arrived  in  country  inhabited  by 
Esa  Somalis.  Some  of  them  came  and  asked  Abdi  to 
visit  them  in  their  kraal,  saying  that  they  would  give  him 
as  much  milk  as  he  could  drink,  and  kill  an  animal  for  him. 
Abdi  told  me  that  he  knew  them  too  well  to  accept  their 
hospitable  invitation,  so  he  went  later,  with  two  armed 
men,  to  buy  me  some  milk.  As  he  told  me  :  "  Let  alone 
the  animal  they  were  going  to  kill  for  me,  it  was  only 
by  paying  an  exorbitant  price  for  it  that  I  could  even 
obtain  a  little  milk  for  you." 

The  Esa  are  very  treacherous  people,  and  Abdi  said 
that  he  would  never  go  into  one  of  their  huts,  as  they 
would  give  a  man  some  milk  to  drink,  and  then  stab  him 
in  the  back.  At  this  spot  four  different  tribes  meet, 
and  so  it  often  happens  that  solitary  or  unprotected 
passers-by  are  robbed,  as  it  is  then  difficult  to  tell  which 
tribe  was  responsible. 

I  was  told  that  in  Abyssinia  and  also  here  robbers  used 
to  disguise  themselves  by  plastering  mud  all  over  their 
faces  and  bodies.  On  hearing  this,  Omari  said  that  in  the 
Comoros  robbers  used  to  smear  themselves  all  over  with 
smoke-black,  and  stand  near  a  path  pretending  to  be 
charred  trees.  If  any  solitary  man  passed  they  would 
seize  on  him  and  rob  him. 

One  evening  on  the  way  to  Dirre  Daua  I  heard  my  men 
playing  a  game  that  I  had  not  seen  before,  called  karingi 
Omari  said  that  it  was  a  very  bad  game  if  people  gambled 


THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY  343 


at  it,  as  be  had  heard  of  men  losing  as  much  as  ten  rupees 
over  it. 

It  is  played  in  this  way.  Ten  little  holes  are  scraped 
in  the  ground  in  a  row.  Stones  are  placed  in  these  holes  : 
in  the  first  hole  one  stone,  and  in  each  successive  hole 
one  more  than  the  last  up  to  the  tenth,  which  has  ten 
stones. 

One  man  sits  in  front  of  the  holes,  while  another  sits 
at  a  distance  with  his  back  to  them.  The  first  man 
takes  a  stone  out  of  the  first  hole,  and  says,  "Here?" 
The  second  sings,  "  One  and  again  (I  say)  one  ;  we  play 
the  game  of  the  karingi  animals." 

The  first  then  takes  a  stone  out  of  the  second  hole,  and 
asks,  "  Here  ?"  The  player  sings,  "  Two  and  again 
two,"  etc.,  and  so  on  up  to  ten.  After  this  the  first  man 
comes  back  to  the  first  hole,  and  says,  "Here  ?"  to  which 
the  answer  is,  "  Nothing,"  and  then  to  the  next  nine  the 
answer  is  one  less  than  the  first  time.  This  goes  on  until 
all  the  holes  are  empty,  when  in  the  last  round  the  answer 
will  be,  "  Ten  nothings."  If  the  player  successfully 
answers  the  right  number  each  time,  he  has  w  on. 

On  the  fourteenth  day  from  Addis  Ababa  we  arrived 
at  Errer,  a  small  stream  whose  banks  were  irrigated  and 
cultivated  by  a  tribe  called  Koti.  This  is  the  only  cultiva- 
tion met  with  in  the  low  country  from  Balchi  to  Dirre 
Daua. 

Near  Errer  were  some  kraals  of  a  small  tribe  of  Somalis 
called  Gurgurr.  Abdi  went  of!  to  look  for  some  milk  for 
me,  and  presently  returned  with  a  large  han  full,  and 
accompanied  by  the  chief  of  these  kraals. 

This  chief  refused  to  accept  any  payment  for  the  milk, 
but  asked  for  some  medicine.  He  then  told  me  to  be 
sure  and  send  again  at  night  for  some  more  milk  when  the 


344     THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY 


cattle  were  driven  in.  He  asked  me  if  I  was  likely  to  be 
coming  back  here  again,  and  when  I  replied  in  the  negative, 
he  said  :  "  Why  do  you  not  live  at  Dirre  Daua,  and  then 
I  should  come  to  see  you:  and  bring  you  an  ox  or  a  sheep  ? 
Write  down  my  name,  so  that  if  you  ever  return  you  will 
be  able  to  ask  after  me.  I  am  Sheikh  Yusuf,  son  of  Sheikh 
Mumin.  Write  it  down  ;  it  may  be  useful.  You  may 
find  that  you  have  lost  something,  or  a  mule  might  run 
away,  or  anything  might  happen,  and  you  will  have 
someone  to  send  to  about  it." 

He  told  me  that  the  Danakils  had  been  badly  defeated 
in  their  recent  fight  with  the  Esa,  and,  according  to  him, 
lost  four  hundred  men  on  one  day  and  three  hundred  on 
another.    However,  this  is  probably  an  exaggeration. 

Sheikh  Yusuf  then  took  his  departure,  saying  :  "J 
don't  know  when  I  shall  see  you  again."  He  was  as  good 
as  his  word,  as  in  the  evening  he  sent  another  han  full  of 
milk.  He  was  a  most  kind  and  pleasant  man,  although  a 
Somali,  and  I  was  very  glad  to  meet  him. 

Thus,  on  the  first  day  I  arrived  in  Abyssinia,  and  almost 
the  last  day  before  I  left  it,  I  met  two  remarkably  kind 
and  generous  natives,  Azach  Kalile  and  Sheikh  Yusuf, 
giving  me  a  good  impression  to  commence  with  and  to 
finish  with. 

It  was  now  only  two  days  for  the  caravan  to  Dirre 
Daua,  so  I  resolved  to  push  on.  Taking  the  sais  with  me, 
I  left  Errer  just  after  midnight,  and  arrived  in  Dirre 
Daua  about  noon. 

This  is  quite  a  big  place,  boasting  of  three  or  four  hotels. 
A  large  party  of  French  engineers  were  camped  outside, 
and  Dirre  Daua  itself  was  full  of  officials,  as  the  works 
for  the  extension  of  the  line  to  Addis  Ababa  had  just 
commenced.    The  manager  of  the  bank  looked  after  me 


THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY  345 


in  the  most  kind  manner,  and  arranged  for  my  passes  and 
baggage. 

I  left  two  old  friends  behind  in  Dirre  Daua — Abdi,  and 
Nairobi,  the  mule.  Abdi,  now  the  journey  was  at  an 
end,  wished  to  go  to  Harrar,  and  thence  to  Somaliland. 
I  was  very  sorry  to  lose  this  faithful  servant,  but  in  any 
case  I  could  not  have  taken  him  farther  than  Aden. 

I  have  never  met  a  native  who  has  served  me  better, 
for  he  was  intelligent,  yet  honest,  good-tempered,  tactful, 
and  conscientious — a  most  unusual  combination  of 
qualities  to  be  possessed  by  a  native.  He  was  also 
modest  and  unassuming.  He  had  charge  of  all  my  trade 
goods  during  the  whole  journey,  and  I  lost  nothing  from 
them  except  once  when  Abdi  had  been  left  behind.  He 
acted  as  interpreter  between  myself  and  most  of  the 
numerous  tribes  whom  we  met  with,  with  the  result  that  we 
had  practically  no  unpleasantness  with  any  of  them,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  were  received  exceptionally  well  everywhere. 
In  fact,  the  success  of  the  trip  was  almost  entirely 
attributable  to  Abdi's  zealous  work. 

With  regard  to  Nairobi,  he  was  the  sole  survivor 
amongst  the  animals,  and  had  performed  the  whole  trip 
from  start  to  finish,  and  was  little  the  worse.  As  Omari 
said,  had  he  been  a  slave,  he  would  by  now  have  won  his 
freedom. 

I  could  not  bear  to  think  of  his  falling  into  the  hands 
of  the  Abyssinians,  to  spend  the  rest  of  his  days  being 
beaten  and  galled  with  loads.  The  bank  manager  very 
kindly  consented  to  take  him  and  treat  him  kindly,  and 
on  changing  stations,  to  pass  him  on  to  another  white 
man,  so  that  he  would  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  natives. 

Abdi  came  to  see  me  off  at  the  station.  A  day's 
journey  in  the  train  brought  us  to  Djibouti.    Here  I  hired 


846     THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY 


a  house  in  which  to  deposit  my  strange-looking  crew. 
Next  day  we  crossed  to  Aden  on  the  local  boat,  and  arrived 
the  following  morning. 

Here  I  was  lucky  enough  to  find  a  German  liner  bound 
for  Mombasa  calling  in  the  same  night.  I  paid  off  all  my 
men  the  same  afternoon,  provided  them  with  rice  and 
dates  for  the  journey,  and  train  fares  to  Nairobi,  and  saw 
them  on  board. 

In  spite  of  all  the  hardships  they  had  suffered,  and 
the  heat  and  thirst  they  had  endured,  they  were  not  as 
boisterous  over  returning  home  as  I  expected  them  to  be. 

They  did  not  express  any  regret  at  leaving  me,  for  it 
is  not  in  their  nature  to  do  so.  All  they  said  was  : 
"  Good-bye,  bwana — good-bye  till  we  see  you  in  our 
country  again." 

I  think,  however,  that  in  some  strange  way  they  felt 
sorry  that  our  journey  was  over,  or  perhaps  it  was  the 
large  ship,  the  strangeness  of  all  around  them,  and  the 
prospect  of  seasickness,  which  made  them  so  quiet  and 
subdued. 

I  exhorted  them  to  behave  well  on  the  return  journey, 
and  then,  wishing  them  a  good  voyage,  returned  to  shore 
to  await  the  P.  and  0.  for  England. 


0 


INDEX 


Abdi  Hassax,  my  headman,  22,  33,  56, 
59,  72 ;  and  the  native  method  of 
measuring,  98 ;  and  the  Rendile 
method  of  measuring,  105,  107,  111  ; 
and  the  dog,  136,  161  ;  and  the  Hons, 
166  ;  Somali  pals,  278,  345 

Abdul  Hassan,  the  Soinaliland  Mullah, 
278 

Aberdare  Eange,  the,  31,  36 
Abyssinia,  money  current  in,  21 
Abyssinian  hunters,  142  ;  stations,  215  ; 

zariba,  218  ;  letter,  276  ;  superstition, 

312 

Abyssinians,  fear  of  the,  83,  107,  223, 
239  ;  disposition,  259  ;  politeness,  272 
Acholi,  the,  238 
Addis  Ababa,  225,  327 
African  guides,  peculiarity  of,  75 
Akaki  River,  332 
Ali  Koti,  Chief,  132 
Aha  Bay,  182,  193 
Alui,  the,  238 

Amba,  or  Abyssinian  mountain  strong- 
hold, 255 
Amerikani,  or  calico,  20 
Amhara,  the,  239,  329 
Amharic  language,  the,  216 
Ant-hills,  white,  167 
Ants,  slave-raiding,  308 
Arab  puzzles,  138 
Araking,  a  strong  spirit,  270,  322 
Arsim,  105,  109 
Asi  or  Esie,  hills  of,  143 
Athi  River,  the,  47 

Atmosphere,  the,  121  ;  its  aridity,  151, 
197 

Azach  Kalile,  219,  228 

Badachu,  district  of,  308 

Baganda,  the,  299 

Bakari,  my  cook,  23 

Bako,  225,  230,  232 

Bako  method  of  carrying  loads,  243 

Bako  Mountain,  241 

Bako  Pass,  250 

Bako  Plateau,  264 

Balchi,  334 

Balessa,  147 

Balo  stream,  247 

Banana-root  bread,  263,  299 

Banna  tribe,  234 

Bantu  race,  the,  238 

Baragoi,  the  people  of,  78  ;  plains,  80 


Barasoloi,  59,  72 
!  Bad,  the,  238 
Baringo  route,  the,  30 
Barrambaras,  a,  268 
Barrambaras,  the  mule,  310 
Basha  and  the  looking-glass,  257 
Basha  Gabri,  248 
Basha  Tazama,  253 
Bashada  Range,  the,  230 
Bashada  tribe,  234 
Beads,  42 

Bernus,  or  cloak,  260 
Beua  chief,  42 

Beua,  the  medicine-man,  110 
Birds  and  fish  of  Lake  Rudolf,  181 
Blind,  Arab  and  Swahili  idea  of  the,  34 
Borana,  the,  58,  62,  127  ;  kraals,  130  ; 

marriage  customs,  85  ;  guides,  134 
Bread,  Abyssinian,  286 
Bread,  Bako,  257 
Bread,  banana-root,  299 
Breaking  a  gourd,  the  consequences  of,  322 
Buffalo,  145 
Buliashe,  137 
Burgi,  a  hot  stream,  146 

Camels,  current  rate  of  exchange  for,  95  ; 
Rendile,  101 ;  difficulty  in  obtaining, 
104  ;  trappings,  109  ;  112  ;  115  ;  134  ;  as 
sentries,  170  ;  temperament,  188  ;  243  ; 
246 

Camp,  arrangement  of,  32 
Camphor-trees,  31 

Caravan,  numerical  strength  of  my,  29 

Cattle-bells  of  the  Samburr,  85 

Centre  Island,  Lake  Rudolf,  193 ;  Elmolo 

on,  224 
Chitowe  demon,  the,  205 
Choba,  334 

Christianity  in  Abyssinia,  329 
Circumcision  amongst  the  Samburr,  85 
Collyer,  District  Commissioner,  28,  38 
Cobra,  a,  136 
Colobus  monkeys,  245 
Comoro  robbers,  342 
Cook's  boy,  the,  282 
Crocodiles  in  the  Omo  River,  235 
Customs  of  the  Samburr,  Turkana,  and 
Rendile,  84 

Daban  Dabli,  150 
Dalbo,  303 

Danakils,  the,  215,  334,  336' 


350 


INDEX 


Dasita  and  the  stolen  marcko,  300,  307 
Declaring  a  purchase,  the  custom  of, 
320 

Dejaz  Biru,  256 

Dejaz  of  Uba,  hospitality  of  the,  274 
Deme  River,  294 
Dinka,  the,  238 

Dirre  Daua,  railway  at,  320,  344 
Disbahai,  105 

Distances,  a  native's  idea  of,  44 
Djibouti,  30,  345 

Domed  rocks  in  Lake  Rudolf,  200 
Donkey-flesh,  Reshiat  practice  of  eating, 
228 

Donkeys,  39  ;  buying,  59,  64  ;  Samburr, 

70  ;  loading,  72,  81 
Donyiro,  the,  237 
Doti,  a  measure  of  length,  97 
Doto,  or  General  Matthews  Range,  65 
Dream,  a  curious,  319 
Drumming,  a  mysterious,  197,  202 
Drums  of  the  Wallamu,  297 
Dufanka  marti,  129 

East  wind,  the,  37,  45,  88,  193 

Eclipse  of  the  moon,  an,  340 

Egyptian  influence,  239 

El  Had,  147,  157 

El  Laut,  113,  116 

El-burrgu  Masai,  36 

Elbisigishu  clan  of  Samburrs,  61 

Elges  desert,  the,  95,  113,  116,  119 

Elgeyo,  the,  239 

Elmasulla  clan  of  Samburrs,  61 

Elmolo,  the,  192 

Em-barta,  plains  of,  steppe,  58,  62,  79 

Em-bassu  Narok,  162 

En-gare  Narok,  47 

Errer,  343 

Errer  stream,  343 

Esa  Somalis,  342 

Eye,  diseases  of  the,  62 

Fantali  Hill,  339 

Fathili,  Neumann's  headman,  38 
Fenwick,  Mr.  G.,  38,  40 
Fish  of  Lake  Rudolf,  181,  210 
Fishing  in  Lake  Rudolf,  200 ;  in  the 

Omo  River,  233 
Fitorari  of  Bako,  the,  248,  252 
Flies,  plague  of,  194 
Food  for  the  journey,  30,  39 
Food,  the  question  of,  194 
Ford,  a  difficult,  288 
Fuga,  the,  252 

Galla,  the,  132,  239 

Game,  45,  59,  72,  80,  120,  135,  153,  170, 

189,  194,  196,  245 
Gamra,  142 
Gar  as  tree,  178 
Garaugi,  the,  308 


General  Matthews  Range,  the,  53,  65 

Gerezmach,  a  disconcerted,  334 

Ghansa,  the,  252 

Gilgil  station,  23 

Giraffe-hair  necklaces,  62 

Gitamana,  the,  251 

Gobana,  Negus  of  Kucha,  293 

Goffa  district,  285 

Goliba,  209 

Grass  as  a  peace-offering,  211 

Grevy's  zebra,  the  roar  of,  184 

Guas  Ngiro  River,  38 

Guides,  69,  109,  134,  137,  149,  157 

Guitar,  a  Wallamu,  299 

Gurgi,  a,  341 

Gurgurr  tribe,  343 

Had  watercourse,  147 

Hair-dressing  among  the  Rendiles,  101 

of  Bako  natives,  232  ;  at  Kerre,  234 
Haiyam  stream,  41 
Han,  or  water-vessel,  100 
Eangol,  the,  100,  341 
Hart,  Captain  R.  S.,  18 
Haul,  or  gazelle,  120 
Hawash  River,  326,  340 
Hawiya  Somalis,  341 
Head-dresses  of  the  Turkana,  80 
Heat  haze,  effects  of,  45 
Hirimat,  147 

Honey-seller  at  Dalbo  market,  305 
Horr,  148,  152 
Hunter's  yarns,  282 
Hut  at  Uba,  my,  272 

Ibraliim,  20 

Infanticide  in  the  Banna,  Kerre,  and 

Bashada  tribes,  234 
Insects  foretelling  rain,  226 

Johannes,  King,  329 
Jima  tribe,  252 
Juniper-trees,  31 

Kaffa,  241 
Kalacha,  146 

Kalkai  the  interpreter,  271,  285 
Kambatta,  the,  308,  310 
Karauwi,  forest  of,  143 
Karingi,  the  game  of,  342 
Karo,  village  of,  232,  234 
Kassim,  248 
Kavirondo,  the,  238 
Kella,  294 

Kerre,  village  of,  232,  234 :  customs, 

236 

Kikuyu  porters,  39.  48 
Kinangop,  31 
Kisima,  39 

Kisima  watercourse,  the,  47 
Kissing  amongst  natives,  298 
Kitabu,  73 

Kobe,  or  tortoise,  and  the  zebra,  180  ; 
and  the  Galla  woman,  323 


INDEX 


351 


Komazi  demon,  the,  205 
Koroli,  route  to,  95,  127 
Koti,  the,  343 
Kraal,  a  Samburr,  66 
Kucha  Mountain,  291  ;  tribe,  292 
Kulal  Mountain,  95,  106,  143 
Kuncha  and  Kimal,  313 
Kurre,  245  ;  Mountain,  247 

Ladero  Hill,  50 

Lado  enclave,  trade  goods  in  the,  20 
Laikipia  plains,  the,  31,  36,  41  ;  plateau, 

53  ;  road,  28 
Laipera,  116  ;  well,  124 
Laisinfesha,  117 
Latuka,  the,  238 
Lebuko,  the  end  of  Narok  at,  242 
Legarbes,  Chief  of  the  Samburr,  81 
Legwanan,  the  Samburr,  69 
Lemmo,  310  ;  women,  314 
Lendoiyen,  Chief,  58 
Leprous  diseases,  304 
Leshaulil,  Rendile  chief,  65,  93,  106,  112 
Lesirikan,  74,  184 
Lij  Iyasu,  Menelek's  nominee,  330 
Lion  and  ostrich,  80 
Liongo,  chief  and  poet,  108 
Lions,  47,  64,  67,  76,  154,  155,  165,  196 
Loikop,  the,  36,  127 
Lokkob,  or  Loikop,  116 
Longellich,  Turkana  chief,  80 
Longendoti  Mountain,  160,  180,  182,  184 
Longoramai,  Chief,  223 
Lorogai  Mountains,  the,  37,  43,  45,  53 
Lorogishu  clan  of  Samburrs,  61 
Luburr  Mountains,  206 

Madi,  the,  238 

Maguru-Kwenda,  the  cook's  boy,  283 
Maidahad,  134 
Maikona,  136 
Maraku  Hills,  322 

Marcho,  or  money  of  the  Wallamu,  294 
Margwe,  44 

Margherita,  Lake,  225,  314 
Marie-TherSse  dollars,  21,  262 
Market  day  at  Dalbo,  304 
Marriage  customs  of  the  Borana,  85 ; 

Rendile,  85  ;  Samburr,  85 
Marsabit,  58 
Marsha  tribe,  243 

Masai,  36  ;  gourds,  41  ;  burial  customs, 

85  ;  characteristics,  238 
Masharia,  the  guide,  40,  49 
Maska,  district  of,  319 
Medicines,  Abyssinians'  liking  for,  258 
Menelek,  or  Negus  nagast,  294,  330 
Menyi  Imorsha,  Chief  of  the  Reshiat,  221 
Mirage,  130 
Molsha  River,  287 
Money  current  in  Abyssinia,  21,  315 
Morendat  River,  the,  32,  33 


Msuakidbnsh,  the,  136 
Mugije,;243 

Muhammadanism  in  Abyssinia,  329 
Mule,  the,  46 

Mules  in  Abyssinia,  261  ;  characteristics 

of,  300 
Murule,  229,  231 

Naga  Laga,  147 

Nagradras  Gashautanna,  316 

Nairobi,  18 
I  "  Nairobi,"  the  mule,  25,  291,  309,  345 
j  Naisichu,  84,  88  ;  routes  from,  95 
;  Naivasha  station,  26 
j  Narok,  my  retriever,  25,  100  ;  and  the 

civet-cat,  185  ;  the  end  of,  242 
!  Negroid  tribes,  similarity  of,  237 
i  Negus,  or  King,  294 
|  Neri  Desert,  the,  241  ;  stream,  245 
j  Neumann,  A.  H.,  38,  222 
;  Ngoloko  demon,  the,  205 
i  Nyamayangu,  or  Neumann,  224 
i  Nyambura,  or  succulent  bush,  163 

Obiroi,  58  ;  Samburr  kraals  at,  61 

O'da  Ah,  or  Danakils,  341 
!  Odol,  341 
i  Ogieg,  the,  78 
!  01  doinyo  Mara,  95,  106 
j  01  doinyo  Motio,  50 
j  01  doinyo  Ngiro,  83,  87 
j  Ol-grisian,  or  Lorogai  Range,  47 
I  Ol-laredanarilo'  olmesi,  50 
j  01  lasarge,  Chief,  110 
I  Ol-lunana,  Chief,  42 
I  Olbolossat  swamp,  the,  34 
j  Omari,  my  headman,  19,  24,  33,  77,  101, 
|       199,  225,  264 

!  Omo  River,  193,  203,  222,  228,  230,  233, 
235 
Oryx,  47 

Parasols  of  banana-leaves,  293 
Passport,  my  Abyssinian,  219 
Pillows,  wooden,  of  the  Reshiat,  227 
Plover,  37 

Poisonous  plants,  camels  and,  245 
Porters,  enrolling,  19 ;  nature  of,  33  ; 
trouble  with,  173  ;  health  of,  243,  279 

Ragi,  147 

Rainfall,  43 ;  in  Lake  Rudolf  district, 

185  ;  in  South  Abyssinia,  228,  244 
Ras  Makunan,  330 
Red  sauce,  a,  253 

Rendile  country,  the,  58,  88  ;  customs, 
84  ;  language,  93,  117  ;  religion,  94  ; 
camels,  94,  103  ;  vegetation,  99  ;  hair- 
dressing,  101 ;  marks  on  sheep,  104 

Reshiat,  the,  38  ;  spears,  61 ;  107  ;  210  ; 
hospitality,  215,  220  ;  customs,  226  ; 
characteristics,  237 


352 


INDEX 


Reservoirs  in  Balchi,  334 

Rhinoceros,  photographing  a,  83;  122; 

164  ;  170 
Rifles  and  ammunition,  23 
Rift  Valley,  the,  31,  37 
Robbers,  disguised,  342 
Rudolf,  Lake,  148;  first  view  of,  177; 

tribes  around,  192  ;  water  of,  203 
Rumuruti,  28,  30,  38 

Sadi,  my  servant,  23 

Salt  desert,  a,  143,  236 

Samai  der,  or  Turkana,  118 

Samburr  country,  48,  53,  55  ;  hospitality, 
56  ;  dress  and  arms,  61 ;  women,  62  ; 
kraal,  65  ;  and  Rendile,  65 

Samburr,  customs  of  the,  burial,  84  ;  cir- 
cumcision, 85  ;  marriage,  85 

Samburr  Legwanan,  the,  69 

Shamma,  or  blanket,  260 

Sheep  of  the  Barta  Steppe,  78  ;  our  flock. 
125 

Sheikh  Yusuf,  344 
Shield  of  the  Turkana,  87 
Shoa,  the  bare  downs  of,  327 
Shooting  match,  a,  281 
Shum,  a,  or  civil  chief,  312 
Siddam,  or  Abyssinians,  215 
Siddamu  Province,  the,  316 
Silte,  318 
Simbara,  31 
"  Sirrgon,"  61 
Sleeping-sickness,  240 
Sobat,  the,  241 
Sokota,  43 

Sokota  Almarrmarr,  46 
Sokota  Luporr,  48 
Sokota  Xaibor,  the,  45 
Somali  quarrel,  a,  285 
Somalis,  the,  239 
Spears,  Reshiat,  228 

Standing  posture  of  the  Reshiat,  curious, 
227 

Stefanie,  Lake,  206,  225 
Stockades  and  hedges,  269 
Stone,  R.  G.,  18 

Story  of  Ibn  Nuas,  89  ;  of  the  Sultan's 

goats,  91 
Suk  guide,  our,  114 
Suk  spears,  61 
Sunstroke,  47 

Swahili  demons,  204  ;  magic  against  rain, 

254 
Swiyan,  74 

Tabot  Abo,  shrine  of,  319 
Tadacha  Malka  stream,  337 
Taitu,  Queen,  330 


Tej,  or  honey-wine,  270 

Teleki's  route,  20,  30,  87,  179,  182,  187, 

190,  192,  203,  221 
Telephone  at  Dalbo,  303 
Tengeneza,  my  gun-bearer,  19  ;  and  the 

rhino,  84 ;  his  courage,  145  ;  and  the 

lion,  155 
Thorn-bushes,  71 
Tigre,  the,  239,  329 
Tona,  Bang  of  the  Wallamu,  303 
Torobo  hunters  and  our  mule,  46 
Trade  goods,  selecting,  20 
Trekking,  50 

Tribes  around  Rudolf,  192 
Tsetse,  48 

Tumal  branch  of  friendship,  10i 
Tumals,  100 

Tumbo,  73  ;  his  waterskins,  159,  167  ;  332 

Tumepona  water-hole,  160 

Turkana,   the,   61,   79 ;   customs,   84 ; 

character,  86  ;  223 
Turkana  and  Samburr,  quarrel  between, 

81 

Uba,  the,  240,  268 

Uba  village,  a,  263,  269 

Uganda  railway,  the,  26 

Uninhabited  tracts,  the  charm  of  the,  214 

Urbarag,  314 

Vegetation,  character  of,  72 
Victoria,  Lake,  194,  238 
Von  Hohnel,  61,  163,  167,  178,  182,  184, 
221 

Wahabashi,  or  Abyssinians,  217 
Wallamu,  the,  240,  251,  294  ;  money,  296 ; 

a  dance,  297 ;  characteristics,  298 ; 

market  day,  303 
Wandorobo,  39 
Wanyamwezi  porters,  19,  29 
Warabe,  315 

Water  and  water-holes,  43,  44,  51,  71,  74, 
79,  93,  106,  110,  126,  134,  142,  152, 
169,  184,  186 

Water-bottles,  133 

Water,  transport  of,  49,  51 

Wells,  72 

Women,  Reshiat,  228 
Wrist-knives  of  the  Reshiat,  227 

Yao  demons,  205 

Yusufu,  217  ;  death  of,  276 

Zanzibar,  derivation  of  name,  317 

Zebra,  59 

Zukwala  Mountain,  319 
Zwai,  Lake,  314 


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